Security Enhancement on Firmware for the Internet of Things

Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT) depicts a bright future, where any devices having computing capabilities can interact with each other. However, due to limit of energy, computing, size, and storage, the security mechanisms for IoT is still in its infancy. In this paper, we focus on the security requirements in the device to prevent possible physical attacks to expose the secure data such as user's privacy data from the device. First, we give an architecture model on hardware for the Internet of Things, to defeat the physical attack that compromises the security of the device. Following this, discuss the software support required to enforce the security within the device. We brief on the security enforced in a device by the use of secure bootloader technology and propose several design principles about it. The paper also discusses the security measures taken during the production of the device.