Toward a Secure Firmware OTA Updates for constrained IoT devices
Saad El Jaouhari
Abstract
The Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm refers to a variety of technologies that enable real-world physical objects to connect to the internet. Its market has grown rapidly in the last few years, where many IoT device manufacturers and IoT -related service providers are competing. As such, time to market is crucial for competitiveness and growth. This competition could lead to serious security issues due to the lack of testing or the short development times. In addition, many IoT devices have several vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers. Such devices are constantly exposed to Zero-days requiring quick intervention to maintain the security in the deployment environment. A quick update of the firmware images of these IoT devices, in this case, is an effective way to mitigate most of these attacks. This paper discusses a possible solution toward a generic and Secure Firmware Over- The-Air (SecFOTA) updates for the IoT devices and in particular for the most constraint ones.