IoT: Mission Impossible?

by 21:20 0 comments INTERNET OF THINGS IoT

By: Shubhangi Negi, BCA 6th Sem, 1st Shift
Internet of things is basically the term given to the various everyday machines, vehicles and other objects to communicate over the internet with the use of sensors or actuators embedded in them. These objects together make up the Internet of Things (IoT). One of the main features of IOT is that it allowed us to sense/control objects remotely.

IoT received a lot of initial hype and it has also been a ‘buzzword’ in the IT sector for years now. Some experts also went to the length of estimating that but the year 2020, IoT will have connected over 50 billion objects. This was back in 2011. Why has a prospect so promising succumbed to sluggish development and limited commercialization? While IoT is a great step towards a better-connected world, it also comes with a number of challenges.

Challenges:

1. Data Encryption: Is my data secure?

Data encryption is extremely important as it allows us to exchange protected data or protect our data if we do not wish to anyone without a key to be able to access it. IoT environment works on the collection and processing of data. A standard IoT application collects tones of data. Most of which is personal and in need of protection. This is very crucial to major companies and firms. But it is very difficult for big businesses to maintain effective security when it comes to IoT. According to SC Magazine, a team of researchers has just defeated one of the most widely used encryption solutions for IoT, The Algebraic Eraser. What’s more, they’ve done it using parameters provided by the creators of the key itself. Which raises the question: Can effective protection ever be achieved through encryption?

2. Data Authentication: An important security measure.

New technologies mean new threats to data. The challenge of the IoT is that of trust. Authentication means making sure that the user of a device is who he/she says he/she is. It is critical for the software to know who all are authorised to access/send the data because if the information gets to the wrong users, the integrity of the data gets compromised. Having a single user also is not safe in the chance that a defect is detected in the connected device making data authentication a big security challenge of IoT.

3. Side-channel Attacks: What are those?

The focus in this kind of attacks is on information gained from ‘physical implementation of a cryptosystem’ rather than ‘brute force’ or ‘theoretical weaknesses in the algorithms’. Which means that these types of attacks focus more on how that information is being presented and less on the information itself.

4. Hardware: Yes, it is important.

Experts say that the Key to IoT Security Is a Strong Hardware Foundation. IP thefts of a network device can occur when it doesn’t have sufficient hardware security. Most of the industrial equipment have low lifetimes and relying on software alone isn’t the best idea. Hardware security chips like the ones found in credit cards and Aadhaar cards are extremely helpful in maintaining security.

Overcoming all these challenges is an ongoing process and it could take years still, to achieve our ideal goal. While the top of this staircase may not be near, each invention takes us a step upward.