Secure Communications and Protected Data for a Internet of Things Smart Toy Platform

Abstract

The growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) has favored the emergence of new applications and services. Consequently, new challenges in data security and protection have arisen because many IoT systems collect sensitive data that could be the target of attacks and intrusion attempts. Such is the case of smart toy platforms, where the loss of personal data is particularly serious because it involves children and therefore user privacy requires special protection. In this paper, we propose a series of security mechanisms to protect an IoT smart toy platform designed to help child development professionals in the early detection of psychomotor delays. Protecting information is crucially important in this environment, as a successful attack could be used to extract personal and health-related information. We have designed and built specific security mechanisms for the system by identifying the main threats in each submodule of the system, and then neutralizing or minimizing them. Due to the smart toys’ hardware restrictions, a specific encryption and authentication mechanism is proposed and presented here. All the mechanisms have been validated on the platform, and have proved to be a feasible and secure solution for this sensitive environment.