Visible to the public Don't Talk Unless I Say So! Securing the Internet of Things with Default-Off Networking

TitleDon't Talk Unless I Say So! Securing the Internet of Things with Default-Off Networking
Publication TypeConference Paper
Year of Publication2018
AuthorsHong, James, Levy, Amit, Riliskis, Laurynas, Levis, Philip
Conference Name2018 IEEE/ACM Third International Conference on Internet-of-Things Design and Implementation (IoTDI)
ISBN Number978-1-5386-6312-7
KeywordsAccess Control, authorisation, Bark phrases access control policies, Bluetooth, bluetooth low energy, cloud computing, Computer crime, default-off networking, Internet, Internet of Things, IoT application protocols, IoT device communications, IoT networks, Logic gates, minimal access permissions, Network security, policy language, pubcrawl, resilience, Resiliency, Scalability, Security by Default, Servers, smart devices, smart lock, Web browser
Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the way we interact with everyday objects. "Smart" devices will reduce energy use, keep our homes safe, and improve our health. However, as recent attacks have shown, these devices also create tremendous security vulnerabilities in our computing networks. Securing all of these devices is a daunting task. In this paper, we argue that IoT device communications should be default-off and desired network communications must be explicitly enabled. Unlike traditional networked applications or devices like a web browser or PC, IoT applications and devices serve narrowly defined purposes and do not require access to all services in the network. Our proposal, Bark, a policy language and runtime for specifying and enforcing minimal access permissions in IoT networks, exploits this fact. Bark phrases access control policies in terms of natural questions (who, what, where, when, and how) and transforms them into transparently enforceable rules for IoT application protocols. Bark can express detailed rules such as "Let the lights see the luminosity of the bedroom sensor at any time" and "Let a device at my front door, if I approve it, unlock my smart lock for 30 seconds" in a way that is presentable and explainable to users. We implement Bark for Wi-Fi/IP and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) networks and evaluate its efficacy on several example applications and attacks.

URLhttps://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8366982
DOI10.1109/IoTDI.2018.00021
Citation Keyhong_dont_2018