In 2016, the Internet of Things crossed the six billion mark, with healthcare, smart city, consumer electronics, industrial, payments and numerous other verticals developing services and products that rely on an IoT infrastructure. But where’s the protection plan for IoT? You can’t buy a warranty against security breaches.
High-profile cases resulting from lack of IoT security include:
- Dangerous web viruses
- Remotely taking over an automobile while it was on the road
- Hacking of IoT devices
Too often, security is an afterthought, and with the rapid growth in IoT deployment, and no security standards in place, it’s critical that security solutions are required to avoid crippling disruptions in daily life and in critical infrastructure. Further, each IoT ecosystem needs to assess its security requirements, with many needing specific requirements independent of other ecosystems or markets.
The Secure Technology Alliance IoT Security Council recently published a concise white paper called “Embedded Hardware Security for IoT Applications” that outlines the security value of embedded hardware in devices used in IoT applications. The paper also outlines basic security principles for securing IoT.
The white paper maintains that applying embedded security techniques – already proven and implemented for other security use cases – can deliver adequate security mechanisms for the billions of connected IoT devices. Security is a core inherent requirement to deliver safe and reliable IoT services spanning from the cloud to connected devices.
