Chapter 1 - Introduction

Abstract

As embedded systems designers, we are all aware that many everyday devices contain microcontrollers. Much of the critical infrastructure that is relied on by modern society rests on functioning computer networks. The growing adoption of IoT networks offers the potential for new services and business models, which will also increase our dependency on these networks. When everything is a computer, the world becomes a computer. For the purposes of this book, we have to consider the potential negative consequences of badly designed IoT networks. The horror stories are not hard to find. Of particular interest was a Nation State-sponsored attack against a Ukrainian power station and substation network in 2015. This was well planned and expertly executed. The attackers not only disrupted the power station IT system but used the power station SCADA system to switch off substations and reprogrammed the station PLCs with malware to damage the generators. Not a good day at the office. It took months to recover the system. Even as I am writing this Introduction, a major attack against the colonial pipeline in the United States is unfolding. Although this seems to involve the IT system rather than the pipeline itself, it is still causing widespread disruption, panic buying, and fuel shortages. At the other end of the scale while researching this book, I also came across the acronym SIMAD, “Single Individual MAssively Destructive.” The concern is that the increasing availability of advanced technology would enable individuals and small groups to develop weapons of mass destruction. It would only be a matter of time before a Lone Wolf attack would result in a huge loss of life. The growth of insecure IoT networks will ensure that even if we are not quite doing their job for them, we are certainly enabling them to do it easily and quickly.