Safety and Security in the Internet of Things

Abstract

The homes, offices, and vehicles of tomorrow will be embedded with numerous "Smart Things," networked with each other and with the Internet. Many of these Things are embedded in the physical infrastructure, and like the infrastructure they are designed to last for decades -- far longer than is normal with today's electronic devices. What happens then, when an occupant moves out or transfers ownership of her Smart Environment? This paper outlines the critical challenges required for the safe long-term operation of Smart Environments. How does an occupant identify and decommission all the Things in an environment before she moves out? How does a new occupant discover, identify, validate, and configure all the Things in the environment he adopts? When a person moves from smart home to smart office to smart hotel, how is a new environment vetted for safety and security, how are personal settings migrated, and how are they securely deleted on departure? When the original vendor of a Thing (or the service behind it) disappears, how can that Thing (and its data, and its configuration) be transferred to a new service provider? What interface can enable lay people to manage these complex challenges, and be assured of their privacy, security, and safety? We present a list of key research questions to address these important challenges.