Licel reinforces its mobile security portfolio through continued EMVCo evaluations with Applus+ Laboratories

Advancing secure mobile applications across platforms 

Licel is a global company specializing in mobile channel protection, providing technologies designed to secure applications, SDKs, and sensitive services in mobile environments. Its portfolio includes solutions such as DexProtector for application protection and its virtual trusted execution environment (vTEE), which enables secure execution of sensitive operations within mobile applications. 

As mobile applications increasingly handle payments, identity, and sensitive data, ensuring consistent protection across Android and iOS environments has become a key requirement for developers and service providers. 

A continuous evaluation approach across multiple solutions 

The collaboration between Licel and Applus+ Laboratories spans several milestones across different product lines and evaluation cycles. 

One of the earliest milestones was the evaluation of DexProtector, achieving EMVCo SBMP approval for Software Protection Tools (SPT) across both Android and iOS platforms. This was followed by subsequent evaluation cycles and certification extensions, reflecting a continuous validation approach aligned with the evolving mobile threat landscape. 

Over time, DexProtector has continued to undergo regular EMVCo evaluations, achieving repeated approvals across consecutive years. In recent evaluation cycles, the solution has reached approval for five and six consecutive years, reflecting sustained alignment with evolving security requirements. 

Building on this foundation, further evaluations have focused on expanding and validating Licel’s portfolio, including the assessment of the vTEE under the EMVCo SBMP TEE category. 

Cross-platform validation for real-world mobile applications 

Licel’s solutions have been evaluated across both Android and iOS environments, ensuring consistent security behaviour in real deployment contexts. 

This cross-platform validation is particularly relevant for applications such as mobile wallets, SoftPOS solutions, digital identity services, and mobile banking, where alignment across operating systems is essential. 

The ability to maintain this consistency across evaluation cycles reflects the robustness of the implemented security architecture. 

High-assurance evaluation approach 

All evaluation activities were conducted by Applus+ Laboratories following the requirements defined under the EMVCo SBMP evaluation frameworks for Software Protection Tools and Trusted Execution Environments. 

This process includes detailed technical analysis of implemented security mechanisms, as well as verification of the solution’s ability to protect sensitive operations within real deployment environments. In the case of application protection technologies, this involves in-depth review of code protection techniques and resistance to advanced attack scenarios. 

“In security, trust must be earned through independent testing. It can't simply be claimed. Working with Applus+ Laboratories gives our customers confidence that our solutions have been evaluated by an EMVCo-certified laboratory against a rigorous and evolving methodology. For us, evaluation and approval isn't a one-time checkbox; it's part of how we continue to prove the strength of our technology as threats evolve.” 
— Ivan Kinash, CEO, Licel 

Enabling secure mobile ecosystems 

The evaluation of Licel’s solutions contributes to enabling the deployment of secure mobile applications in environments where trust and compliance are critical. 

Technologies such as DexProtector and the vTEE support use cases that include mobile payments, digital identity, SoftPOS, and mobile banking, where independently validated security is a key requirement for acceptance by ecosystems, partners, and industry frameworks. 

A long-term collaboration built on consistency and technical rigor 

The ongoing collaboration between Licel and Applus+ Laboratories highlights the value of sustained evaluation activities in supporting the evolution of secure mobile technologies.