Decoupling Security From Applications in CoAP-Based IoT Devices

Abstract

The complex and ever-changing Internet of Things (IoT) domain could benefit from standardization and a higher degree of autonomy between different layers: standard approaches defining the relationship between security communication software functionalities, hardware, and applications will allow a more efficient, flexible, and secure communication. To this end, techniques in which the security of IoT devices is decoupled from the applications they run can provide significant benefits and enable the development of new standardization strategies. This article presents a study of the benefits provided by IoTsafe, a security decoupling approach when used in combination with the constrained application protocol (CoAP). Whereas previous work relied on HTTP/HTTP2 protocols, the present article is focused on the analysis of the feasibility of IoTsafe in more constrained devices in channels with high interference levels. The benefits of this technique are illustrated by means of a battery of tests to evaluate the impact of this scheme. The results show no performance penalty (taking CoAP with security as a baseline) in lossless channels, even when an overhead increment of 38% is borne. Furthermore, in lossier channels, a transfer time reduction of 36% is achieved, a figure that increases significantly if traffic compression is enabled.