The Internet of Things (IoT) has become ubiquitous, and with it comes the smart transformation of our homes, workplaces, and entire communities. Researchers predict that within the next few years, every electronic device will be linked to every other device, requiring them to be exceptionally intelligent and safe.Hackers are constantly undertaking large-scale efforts to compromise IoT devices; as a result, every business using or developing an IoT device must place a premium on security.
The most concerning factor is chips, as they form the foundation of all modern electrical and electronic devices. Global shipments of ARM-based chipsets have increased by a factor of four in the last four years, according to a report by worldwide research and intelligence business IoT Analytics, from about 100 billion in the previous 26 years. The number of linked devices is expected to reach 12.3 billion by the end of 2021, and 25 billion by the end of 2025. As the number of Internet-connected gadgets grows, more chipsets are introduced to the market, most of which lack basic hardware security. Your deployments, systems, and solutions will be less secure if there are more vulnerabilities in the market.”It is very imperative to secure the IoT ecosystem,” Satyajit Sinha, Senior Analyst at IoT Analytics, told CircuitDigest. Security measures have often consisted of firewalls and other software, but IT requires much more stringent measures. Since the systems will produce more data and more linked devices, guarding only one system would not alleviate the problem. However, we must adopt a multi-layered security strategy that includes hardware, software, networks, and the cloud.
The Latest and Current Layers of Security for IoT Devices
When introducing a new solution, it’s best to choose one that is already built into the secure MCU or SoC, known as an embedded solution. Noting that there is already a solution, but that an embedded solution cannot be put on top of that, HSMs are always a good idea and will provide the same level of security. Once an embedded MCU is secured, such as with an Azure-based device, software security can be deployed. Network security, which uses AI and ML at the network’s foundational level, is the starting point. This implementation both monitors and generates the data discrepancy. Hardware security and cloud security are two sides of the same coin.
Asymmetric encryption is made possible by the “hardware root of trust,” which is based on hardware security. The foundation upon which a computer system’s security is built is its hardware root of trust. Data security is guaranteed both when stored locally on the chip and while being transmitted to and from the cloud, thanks to the inclusion of cryptographic function keys.
Secure Element (SE) is a tamper-resistant secure platform with the potential to host numerous applications and their cryptographic and classified data in a very secured way, in accordance with the security requirements and norms defined by the verified authorities. SE stands out from the crowd because it can be used in a wide variety of contexts and applications, such as UICC(SIM), embedded secure element, and micro-SD.
Source- IoT Analytics
A Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is capable of safely storing the authentication artifacts, such as encryption keys, passwords, or certificates, that are used to verify a device. TPM stands out from the crowd because it doesn’t rely on any other parts of the platform to function. It improves the file and folder encryptions of the native operating system and sets the stage for authentication of TPM-enabled devices by using a root key stored in silicon. TPM is a very established security. TPM has been deployed in many different types of computing devices, including PCs, laptops, and even Google’s smartphones. When Google India upgraded their servers, the titan chip was one of the most significant upgrades to the TPM. It shifted the market’s thinking that hardware security was something that applied just to endpoints, not data centers or servers, as Sinha put it.
Why Chip-to-Cloud is Important to Secure IoT Devices
During last year’s COVID-19 epidemic, media outlets reported that Alibaba announced plans to invest over $28 billion in cloud architecture to meet the rising demand for software. Whether in the office or elsewhere, connected or IoT devices have proven crucial to the rapid evolution of businesses. Implementing cloud-based enterprise computing is crucial for improving connection technologies. You can’t make money before you feel safe, as the old adage goes. Therefore, modern interoperability between devices is very important but vulnerable to cyber-threats.
The focus here is on how Chip-to-cloud will revolutionize the Internet of Things in the near future. Finding reliable hardware, in this case the processor, is essential before developing a smart device. Modern security features, such as a cryptographic accelerator, hardware random number generator, and secure random access memory, must be included on the processor or chip. Connected devices necessitate trustworthy software design that prevents infection and cloning by hackers. After then, a safe connection to the cloud takes center stage, followed by careful monitoring and control of our gadget. The innovative chip-to-cloud technology enables the development of energy-efficient, built-in security-by-design devices that utilize microchips.
Tech behemoths like Amazon and Microsoft have been diligently working on rolling out this fix to protect customers from hackers for some time now. It is crucial to continue working on processor-based security solutions in order to keep cyber-threats at bay. Microsoft released the Pluton processor and implemented Chip-to-cloud security in Xbox and Azure, but wider adoption of these technologies is urgently required.
Security from chip to cloud can be improved with the help of Microsoft Azure. A private key for asymmetric encryption and device authentication using paired public keys is included in the Azure cloud during manufacturing.
In North America, for instance, Starbucks, a multinational coffee company, has implemented Microsoft Azure across all of its locations. For data on beverages, preventative maintenance to limit disruptions, and asset monitoring, each location must be connected to the cloud and run more than a dozen pieces of equipment for more than seventeen hours a day. Pluton security subsystems support a secure MCU/MPU that incorporates public secure keys.
How to Secure IoT Devices in Post-Quantum World
Despite its infancy, quantum computing already poses a threat to today’s most widely used public-key encryption schemes. Since these encryption systems have the ability to deal with and provide top-notch security in a variety of communications platforms, they are now necessary to safeguard the internet. Since most IoT-enabled devices rely on batteries and have limited resources in terms of memory and computational capacity, it has become increasingly difficult to provide state-of-the-art security to them in light of the rising demand. This means that the devices must make use of a set of prescribed lightweight and energy-efficient algorithms. As a result of the difficulties posed by quantum computing, researchers all around the world are working on fixes to improve the functionality of IoT devices.
In October 2019, Google said that it had achieved quantum computing, citing the fact that its 54 qubit SoC could complete a calculation that would have taken a strong supercomputer more than 200 seconds. Once these chips become widely available in the next years, it will be trivial for fraudsters to break any security protocols. The question now is what kinds of safety measures might be taken. To integrate quantum driven safe chip design into existing Silicon design and manufacturing processes, researchers have developed the Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG). Alternatively, you could choose for a setup with the maximum amount of RAM available. It is expected that in the post-quantum world, the Root of Trust will be secure enough with at least 256kb of RAM dedicated to cryptography. Symmetric encryption, in contrast to asymmetric encryption, does not necessitate sending keys in the clear, where they could be intercepted by quantum algorithms. Instead, it calls for the physical exchange of an encryption key between the message’s sender and receiver. Post-quantum crypto algorithms will greatly benefit from the incorporation of Symmetric crypto accelerators.