STS Product Suite

Overview

From 1993 to 2018, the applicable IEC specification for the first generation of Standard Transfer Specification (STS), which is known as STS edition 1, was IEC60255-41 Edition 1 and later Edition 2 which included currency tokens for smart metering and time of use tariffs.

In 2016, STS Association (STSA) released a new Key Management Specification, STS600-8, (developed by Prism) which incorporated a host of new security and functional features based on lessons learned from the first 25 years of STS operations.

IEC62055-41 Edition 3 specification captured the enhancements as specified in STS600-8 and was published in 2018. The STS Association refers to this generation as STS Edition 2 as it is the second major release of STS standards and associated technology upgrades since the standard was launched.

The STSA deployed a new Key Management Centre in May 2016 which supports all the new features as defined in STS Edition 2.

Prism has prefixed their STS Edition 2 security module firmware with “STS6”, named after the key management specification. The STS6 security modules have been certified to the highest international level possible with no compromises, namely PCI-HSM version 3, to protect our customers and their vending keys. Prism is the first HSM manufacturer globally to achieve this level of security, which emphasizes the company’s commitment to providing the best security that money can buy.

The security modules not only provide secure key storage, encryption and decryption but they also enforce the security attributes listed below: