Trustonic will be working to make smart cars more secure as the newest member of the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC). The digital security specialist formally announced that it had joined the Consortium on February 18.

The CCC was established to promote technologies that bridge the gap between smartphones and smart vehicles. Trustonic’s expertise will be especially valuable in the realm of digital keys, which allow drivers to use a smart device as a key to access and start their vehicle.

To that end, Trustonic has already provided digital key technology for car companies like Volkswagen and Hyundai, both of which are using Trustonic Application Protection (TAP) to safeguard their digital keys and key-sharing apps.

“Digital keys deliver convenience to consumers, reduce costs for manufacturers, and enable innovative use-cases, including remote key sharing and vehicle sharing schemes,” said Trustonic CCO Dan Rawlings. “The risk of malware attacks, however, have serious ramifications. That’s why we’re working with the CCC to secure smart mobility applications.”

In addition to digital keys, the CCC has been trying to come up with ways to use the data collected with a smart vehicle for a variety of different services, such as fleet management and personalized insurance pricing that is based on driver performance.

Trustonic is joining the CCC shortly after its Trusted Execution Environment received EMVCo Certification. The company has previously provided TAP security for the South Korean authentication company Ksmartech and the French mobile payments specialist Alcinéo.