Demystifying internet of things security : successful iot device/edge and platform security deployment

Abstract

In 1989 I walked into the Distributed Systems Laboratory as an undergraduate in the Electrical Engineering department at University of Pennsylvania and it seemed as if I didn’t leave that lab until I received a doctorate 6 years later.Combining compute and communications has been a professional passion ever since as I’ve lead a range of initiatives at Intel Corporation in protecting video and audio content, bring networks and digital technologies into the home, securing compute infrastructure, and preparing for a new generation of distributed applications popularly referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT’s connection and computerization is a pervasive trend transforming everything we do and the infrastructure which supports us.From smart cities and homes to Industry 4.0, enterprises, critical infrastructure, healthcare, retail, and wearables, vast flows of data, increasingly processed using machine learning algorithms, are altering our existence.This unprecedented scale, pervasiveness, and interconnectivity also creates an environment where the security and integrity of these applications becomes a paramount concern.One only has to look to the headlines where attacks on critical infrastructure such as power generation and distribution, vulnerabilities in our automobiles, and malware in the devices such as webcams, smartphones, and PCs which we bring into our homes, highlight our collective vulnerability. Given the extensive attack surfaces being created and the asymmetry between attackers needing to find a single vulnerability to exploit while defenders have to find and close all vulnerabilities, IoT creates an unmatched set of security challenges.