Securing the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things is already with us and it requires a paradigm shift in the way that we think about security. Last week it was reported that the Tesla Model S could be hacked using an iPhone app, showing how inbuilt technology can put owners at risk when adequate security measures are not in place.

The increase in connected devices therefore raises a new and pressing security concern; how to trust the identity of the devices that are connecting with you and with each other. One of the best ways to ensure that you can protect and verify the identity of every device that connects to your environment is with an embedded secure element. This can’t be copied or tampered with, and can hold cryptographic keys that are unique to that device. Combined with authentication that verifies each user or device that attempts to engage with it, embedded security provides the best practical defense against criminals seeking to exploit the Internet of Things.

The Internet of Things will radically change our lives in many ways but the biggest change will come in the way that we need to think about security.

What I want five years from now is to be sitting in my self-driving car, checking my home security camera on my smart watch, when my fridge tells me that I have run out of milk and automatically directs me to the supermarket. But I want to be absolutely sure that it is my fridge, my car, my security camera and my watch talking to me. Embedded secure elements combined with device and person identity management can make this a reality; without it our fridges may be full of spam in a way we had not predicted.