The key application of IoT devices

The design of secure computing and communication has become a key requirement for all electronic products. It is necessary to identify potential attack surfaces and integrate design features to prevent attempts to obtain critical data and access critical intellectual property. Critical data covers various assets, including financial, government, and personal privacy information.

It is necessary to consider intellectual property security in the design to prevent product reverse engineering. For example, attackers may try to capture firmware running on microcontrollers in IoT applications to provide detailed product information for competitive manufacturers.

In fact, the requirement to integrate secure microarchitecture in the design applies not only to high-end transaction processing systems but also to Internet of Things devices.

The types of attacks on IoT devices

There are three major types of attacks that can provide information to attackers:

• Side-channel attack: non-invasive eavesdropping attacks monitoring physical signals from IoT devices.
• Fault injection attack: attempting to disrupt the internal operation of IoT devices, such as attempting to modify program execution of internal microcontrollers to gain knowledge of internal confidential data or interrupt program flow.
• Invasive attack: physical reverse engineering of IoT circuits, which is typically too costly for attackers.

For the first two types of attacks, current IoT systems provide more and more (wired and wireless) interfaces, offering potential access. Designers must focus on security measures for all these interfaces, from memory storage access (RAM and external non-volatile flash) to data interface ports, and to test access methods (JTAG).

The universality and diversity of IoT applications, from industrial IoT deployments to consumer (and healthcare) products, therefore require attention to the security of critical economic and personal privacy assets.

A survey cited by the white paper shows that security remains a major limiting factor for consumer Internet of Things devices adoption. One recommendation in the white paper is for IoT product developers to perform independent third-party testing and certification of security features.

Neoway is a forward-looking cellular module manufacturers dedicated to providing communication products and related services tailored for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Our diverse selection of offerings includes neoway N58/N720/G7A/N715/N716/M590/Neo N21/Neo N11/T box automotive solutions.