Multi-layer security mechanism for networked embedded devices

Abstract

Networked embedded systems are impacting the way we interact with the world around us. They are at the core of the advancements in information and communication technologies which have been driving the fourth generation revolution in today’s industry and networks. This technology allows for better integrated communications, integrated local and global control, supervision and maintenance. Billions of smart devices are being implemented - from smart TVs and cars to other smart health monitors and wearable technologies and this resulted in the development of smart interconnected environments. The core vision of the aforementioned smart interconnected environment is the realization of a reliable and secure two way communication between smart devices. However, the high level of heterogeneity, coupled with the wide scale of smart embedded systems, has magnified the security threats. Traditional security countermeasures and privacy cannot be enforced directly on such systems due to their limited computing capabilities and their diverse set of hardware architectures. In this paper we are proposing a multi-level security approach for smart interconnected environments/networks. We address the security at three main pillars: application level, system level, and network level.