Security and Privacy Across Connected Environments

Abstract

The devices in the Internet of Things (IoT) environment find applications in a wide variety of fields, from smart homes and smart cities to smart wearables. Earlier predictions had estimated a huge number of connected devices in use by the year 2015, but it did not happen. A main reason refers to the ubiquity of IoT devices that has its own set of unique challenges and problems which are not easy to surmount. One core issue relates to the security and connectivity vulnerabilities of these devices. With the number of IoT devices steadily on the rise and trends like BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) catching up, the challenges faced by these devices are steadily increasing. To understand the significance of issues relating to the connectivity of IoT devices, we must learn about their unique characteristics and requirements. However, notwithstanding the multiple vulnerabilities, unfortunately, there is no silver bullet to suggest definitive solutions. Apart from securing the devices, there is also an urgent need to update the laws that protect data ownership rights and restrict access to personal data. This chapter is an effort to address privacy and security challenges that IoT devices face. The chapter highlights novel solutions that can be usefully employed to make these devices more secure. It discusses device trust, policies and standards, data anonymization, lightweight authentication , encryption, and Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) techniques.