Green Hills Software is a technology provider of high performance compilers, software development tools and real-time operating systems for developers of embedded systems. An "embedded" system is one in which a microprocessor and associated components (e.g. memory or a touch screen) are incorporated into a product to aid in accomplishing difficult and complex tasks.

Examples of embedded systems include automobile engine controllers, anti-lock braking systems, digital cameras, network gateways, computer disk drives, communication satellites, cellular phones, telephone switching systems, medical diagnostic equipment, video games, printers, set-top boxes, and avionics systems for commercial and military aircraft. Products containing embedded microprocessors are being used in more and more areas of everyday life.

For more than 10 years, the Green Hills INTEGRITY® operating system has been deployed in embedded systems that require total reliability, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. INTEGRITY® has achieved formal safety and reliability certification in avionics systems, life-sustaining medical devices and safety-critical industrial control systems (as used by the nuclear, rail and automotive industries).

More recently the INTEGRITY® operating system has also been independently evaluated and certified by the National Security Agency (NSA). The certification enables INTEGRITY® to be deployed in security-critical systems used to protect vital infrastructure and valuable information from potential well-funded, dedicated attacks. This includes systems at risk of threats such as conventional hacking, corporate espionage, and even serious attacks launched by a foreign power.

The NSA’s security certification was performed in the United States under the Common Criteria standard. This level of certification requires detailed specifications, full traceability between design and implementation, complete test coverage of all functional requirements, and the use of formal mathematical methods to prove the security policies and implementation. In addition, the NSA’s security experts (with full access to the source code) performed covert channel analysis and penetration testing to attempt to compromise the system. After three years in evaluation, the end result is a “High Robustness” (EAL6+) certification; the highest security certification ever received by an operating system under the Common Criteria standard.

Green Hills Software was founded in 1982 as a compiler company in the United States, and is still run today by its founding engineer. The company’s core technologies has expanded to cover the complete lifecycle of “device software optimisation”, including advanced debugging environments and real-time operating systems (RTOS). Green Hills Software remains a privately owned global company, with around 300 staff in over 40 offices worldwide, and an annual turnover in excess of US$100m. The main headquarters are in Santa Barbara, California, with European headquarters in the United Kingdom.

In Australia, Green Hills Software has just five staff based in Canberra and Melbourne, however Asia-Pacific Managing Director, Mr David Cooper, said Green Hills Australia was all about providing local Green Hills support for Green Hills products.

“We provide expert technical support, and assist our customers in designing and building their concepts with our technologies,” Dave said. “We don’t just create products. We create tools and technologies that people can use effectively to make a measurable difference in their own projects. Green Hills Software has made a strategic decision to place direct offices in Australia with dedicated experts to support local customers.”

The INTEGRITY® operating system is already used in a wide variety of products, including airplanes, satellites, medical devices, vehicles, telecommunication and military systems, industrial controls, security access systems and many commercial electronic devices (such as printers, set-top boxes and GPS devices). It is also used on standard desktop and laptop computers, enabling high-value, security-critical information to be protected against the insecure Internet, while still providing a familiar interface to the user.

Green Hills created INTEGRITY® from the ground up to protect critical infrastructure, financial records and corporate intellectual property from all threats, internal and external, deliberate and inadvertent. The latest NSA certification recognises that INTEGRITY® ensures the most stringent protection and rigorous security countermeasures available for high-value data.

“Green Hills Software has the only solution to the long unsolved problems of protecting the world’s critical infrastructure, keeping private information private, and thwarting even the most determined cyber attackers,” Dave said. “For years, information security has been myopically protecting the organisation from the outside in with technologies like firewalls and antivirus, and largely overlooking the need to protect it from the inside out.”

In Australia, many Defence companies leverage Green Hills Software’s technologies for building their next-generation, mission-critical systems. Some high-profile examples include the HERTI Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) by BAE Systems, and the CEAFAR 3D Radar system by CEA Technologies. Both these products have absolute requirements for reliability, real-time performance and complete security in mission- and safety-critical environments.