A secure isolation of software activities in tiny scale systems

Abstract

All visions of pervasive computing share the idea of smart, small, and cheap devices that improve our everyday life. Their applications typically fall under sensor-based communication-enabled autonomous and deeply embedded monitor and control systems. But common smart sensors and deeply embedded controllers are also able to do many things that we do not want. In fact, they will be always vulnerable to doing the bidding of attackers, to the detriment of their owners. This work presents a concept of a security architecture for tiny scale devices, which are typically close to the physical elements and featured with very limited resources. The concept describes a compile- and run-time co-design process to bring a tailor-made implementation of well-understood technologies of desktop systems on this type of devices to enforce an adequate security level.