Supporting communications in the IoTs using the location/ID split protocol: A security analysis

Abstract

Communication on the `Internet of Things' is based on a machine-to-machine pattern, where devices will be globallyaddressed and identified. However, as the number of connected devices increases, the burden on the network infrastructure increases as well. One major challenge will be the size of the routing tables and the efficiency of the current routing protocols in the Internet backbone. To address this problem, an IETF working group, along with the research group at Cisco, are working on a Locator/ID Separation Protocol as a routing architecture that provides new semantics for IP addressing, in order to simplify routing operations and improve scalability in the future of the Internet such as the Internet of Things. However, the Locator/ID Separation Protocol is still at an early stage of implementation and the protocol's security, in particular, is still in its infancy. Therefore, this paper will investigate the security issues that could occur from deploying the Locator/ID Separation Protocol in the Internet of Things. The investigation discovers a number of vulnerabilities that should be considered before moving to the implementation stage.