S3K: Scalable Security With Symmetric Keys—DTLS Key Establishment for the Internet of Things

Abstract

DTLS is becoming the de facto standard for communication security in the Internet of Things (IoT). In order to run the DTLS protocol, one needs to establish keys between the communicating devices. The default method of key establishment requires X.509 certificates and a Public Key Infrastructure, an approach which is often too resource consuming for small IoT devices. DTLS also supports the use of preshared keys and raw public keys. These modes are more lightweight, but they are not scalable to a large number of devices.