Internet of Things and Big Data as enablers for business digitalization strategies

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging paradigm branded by heterogeneous technologies composed of smart ubiquitous objects that are seamlessly connected to the Internet. These objects are often deployed in open environments to provide innovative services in various application domains such as smart cities, smart health, and smart communities. These IoT devices produce a massive amount of confidentiality and security-sensitive data. Thus, security of these devices is very important in order to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the system. In this paper, a decentralized authentication and access control mechanism is proposed for lightweight IoT devices and is applicable to a large number of scenarios. The mechanism is based on the technology of the fog computing and the concept of the public blockchain. The results gained from the experiments demonstrate a superior performance of the proposed mechanism when compared to a state-of-the-art blockchain-based authentication technique.

A decentralized lightweight blockchain-based authentication mechanism for IoT systems

Although the fifth generation (5G) wireless networks are yet to be fully investigated, the visionaries of the 6th generation (6G) echo systems have already come into the discussion. Therefore, in order to consolidate and solidify the security and privacy in 6G networks, we survey how security may impact the envisioned 6G wireless systems, possible challenges with different 6G technologies, and the potential solutions. We provide our vision on 6G security and security key performance indicators (KPIs) with the tentative threat landscape based on the foreseen 6G network architecture. Moreover, we discuss the security and privacy challenges that may encounter with the available 6G requirements and potential 6G applications. We also give the reader some insights into the standardization efforts and research-level projects relevant to 6G security. In particular, we discuss the security considerations with 6G enabling technologies such as distributed ledger technology (DLT), physical layer security, distributed AI/ML, visible light communication (VLC), THz, and quantum computing. All in all, this work intends to provide enlightening guidance for the subsequent research of 6G security and privacy at this initial phase of vision towards reality.

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The Roadmap to 6G Security and Privacy

Internet-of-things has emerged out as an important invention towards employing the tremendous power of wireless media in the real world. We can control our surroundings by interacting with numerous smart applications running independently on different platforms, almost everywhere in the world. IoT, with such a ubiquitous popularity often serve itself as a potential platform for escalating malicious entities. These entities get an access to the legitimate devices by exploiting IoT vulnerabilities which results from several constraints like limited resources, weaker security, etc. and can further take form of various attacks. Distributed Denial-of-service (DDoS) in IoT network is an attack which targets the availability of the servers by flooding the communication channel with impersonated requests coming from distributed IoT devices. Defending DDoS in IoT has now become an exigent area of research due to the recent incidents of demolishment of some renowned servers, reported in previous few years. In this paper, we discuss the concept of malware and botnets working behind ‘Distributed’ DoS in IoT. The various DDoS defence techniques are broadly described and compared in order to identify the security gaps present in them. Moreover, we list out the open research issues and challenges that need to be addressed for a stronger as well as smarter DDoS defence.

A survey of DDoS attacking techniques and defence mechanisms in the IoT network

SDN/NFV architectures for edge-cloud oriented IoT: A systematic review

Ubiquitous computing facilitated by Internet of things (IoT) devices has made modern day life easier across many areas. It offers capabilities to measure parameters associated with the devices, to infer from their results, and to understand and control millions of such devices in various application domains. The enormous potential of IoT systems enables each and every device to communicate with each other, thereby providing more productivity. In this scenario, heterogeneity of technologies in use is expected to intensify the security threats. Policy enforcement for the assurance of privacy and security plays a key role in these systems. Fulfillment of privacy and security related requirements include confidentiality of data, user and device authentication, access control, and trust assurance among the things. However, recent reported events related to security attacks show colossal vulnerabilities among IoT devices capable of bringing security risks to the whole environment. One of the common uses of these devices by the attackers is to generate powerful distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. It is one of the most prominent attacking behaviors over a network by a group of geographically distributed zombie computers that interrupt and block legitimate users to use the network resources and hence, requires great attention. In this regard, the current work being novel in the field puts concentration on variants of DDoS attacks and their impact on IoT networks along with some of the existing countermeasures to defend against these attacks. The paper also discusses the detailed working mechanism of these attacks and highlights some of the commonly used tools that are deployed in such attack scenarios.

Critical Analysis of DDoS—An Emerging Security Threat over IoT Networks

Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged from the proliferation of smart and inter-connected devices ranging from tiny sensors to complex Fog and Cloud nodes, various networking technologies, and communication protocols. These IoT devices permeate in our lives through various applications including smart homes, healthcare, defence, transportation, and so forth. Although IoT provides a way of interaction among the physical world objects and the Internet, these connected devices have created a new dimension of security challenges associated with the vulnerabilities present in them. These challenges can be tackled to some extent by deploying a rigid authentication and access control model. In this paper, we propose a novel light-weight authentication and authorization framework suitable for distributed IoT environment using Elliptical Curve Cryptography (ECC) and Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT). Moreover, we implement the scheme, and analyse and compare its various security and performance aspects with other schemes.

ECC based inter-device authentication and authorization scheme using MQTT for IoT networks

Internet of Things (IoT) ideates smart and inter-connected things capable of sharing their perceptions through the Internet. These devices are different from conventional Internet-connected devices in the sense that these are able to perform skill-full things on their own with minimal or no human interaction. Unfortunately, with the advent of amalgamate technologies, security has become a major concern for IoT networks. Recent efforts include re-inventing cryptographic solutions through the use of light-weight operations. However, after witnessing the growth of quantum computers, it can be inferred that the cryptographic techniques based on mathematical problems are not reliable enough. Therefore, there is need to develop solutions that can easily resist the adversarial effects and are suitable for the post-quantum world. In this paper, we perform in-depth analysis over the role of post-quantum cryptographic techniques for securing IoT networks and also explore ongoing research efforts in the field. In addition, we discuss the open research challenges and future research directions in the field.

A comprehensive survey of prominent cryptographic aspects for securing communication in post-quantum IoT networks

Unprecedented attention towards blockchain technology is serving as a game-changer in fostering the development of blockchain-enabled distinctive frameworks. However, fragmentation unleashed by its underlying concepts hinders different stakeholders from effectively utilizing blockchain-supported services, resulting in the obstruction of its wide-scale adoption. To explore synergies among the isolated frameworks requires comprehensively studying inter-blockchain communication approaches. These approaches broadly come under the umbrella of Blockchain Interoperability (BI) notion, as it can facilitate a novel paradigm of an integrated blockchain ecosystem that connects state-of-the-art disparate blockchains. Currently, there is a lack of studies that comprehensively review BI, which works as a stumbling block in its development. Therefore, this article aims to articulate potential of BI by reviewing it from diverse perspectives. Beginning with a glance of blockchain architecture fundamentals, this article discusses its associated platforms, taxonomy, and consensus mechanisms. Subsequently, it argues about BI’s requirement by exemplifying its potential opportunities and application areas. Concerning BI, an architecture seems to be a missing link. Hence, this article introduces a layered architecture for the effective development of protocols and methods for interoperable blockchains. Furthermore, this article proposes an in-depth BI research taxonomy and provides an insight into the state-of-the-art projects. Finally, it determines possible open challenges and future research in the domain.

Ankur Lohachab

Papers

Critical Analysis of DDoS—An Emerging Security Threat over IoT Networks

ECC based inter-device authentication and authorization scheme using MQTT for IoT networks

A comprehensive survey of prominent cryptographic aspects for securing communication in post-quantum IoT networks

Towards Interconnected Blockchains: A Comprehensive Review of the Role of Interoperability among Disparate Blockchains

Performance evaluation of Hyperledger Fabric-enabled framework for pervasive peer-to-peer energy trading in smart Cyber–Physical Systems