How Embedded and IoT Designers and Developers Think About Security – A Look at Survey Data and the Way Forward

Date Published: May, 11, 2017

IoT devices now outnumber humans (http://www.nextgov.com/technology-news/tech-insider/2017/04/hackers-pov-internet-things-security/137292/). Security practices have not followed suit, however, with well-publicized attacks and hacks as varied as a damaging shut-down of a German steel mill (http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30575104) and infiltration of critical infrastructure systems (https://securityintelligence.com/attacks-targeting-industrial-control-systems-ics-up-110-percent/) to compromised personal fitness tracking devices (http://www.computerworld.com/article/3092407/security/hackers-can-exploit-smartwatches-fitness-trackers-to-steal-your-atm-pin.html) and children’s toys (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39002142).

 

Given the many constraints and requirements of IoT devices, which include size, cost, lack of remote update capabilities, lack of standardization and legislation and other factors, security can be a challenge. TCG has been working with industry leaders to apply widely vetted and already deployed concepts of trust to better enable security as IoT and embedded systems are designed and developed.

 

To learn more about the needs of the IoT and embedded systems market, TCG recently partnered with OpenSystemsMedia and its Embedded Computing Design  property to survey designers. Some 85 percent said security was part of design considerations – encouraging given the previous issues with early IoT and legacy embedded systems. Many respondents noted that safety, protecting confidential data and protecting user privacy were goals in adding security. Almost half were familiar with the TCG’s TPM standards with almost 40 percent noting plans to include it in the future.

 

To read the complete report and additional recommendations about security, trust and standards, go to https://trustedcomputinggroup.org/securing-insecure-iot/. An associated webcast provides additional insights into the report.

Join

Membership in the Trusted Computing Group is your key to participating with fellow industry stakeholders in the quest to develop and promote trusted computing technologies.

Join Now

Trusted Computing

Standards-based Trusted Computing technologies developed by TCG members now are deployed in enterprise systems, storage systems, networks, embedded systems, and mobile devices and can help secure cloud computing and virtualized systems.

Read more

Specifications

Trusted Computing Group announced that its TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module) Library Specification was approved as a formal international standard under ISO/IEC (the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission). TCG has 90+ specifications and guidance documents to help build a trusted computing environment.

Read more