Firmware over the air for home cybersecurity in the Internet of Things

Abstract

With rising of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, billions of IoT devices and sensors interconnect and exchange large amount of data. Along with new IoT applications, there are many emerging important issues, such as device security and data protection. Recently, there are several global distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against home routers and network cameras. These IoT embedded devices are vulnerable to cyber-attacks because of existing vulnerabilities, such as network access, constrained resources, lack of update, and system heterogeneity. In this paper, we propose an over-the-air firmware update system for home routers cooperating with ISPs' network management system (NMS) and operations support system (OSS). This system has been applied to at least one million routers in Chunghwa telecom and has reached completion rate of firmware update around 96.32%. It keeps firmware of routers up-to-date, assures home cybersecurity of customers and reduces the inconvenience caused to customers while updating.