Here is a list f IoT predictions for year 2018. With the number of connected devices set to top 11 billion – and that’s not including computers and phones – in 2018, Internet of Things will clearly continue to be a hot topic. Here is my prediction list:
1. Artifical Intelligence – it will be talked a lot
2. Blockchain – blockchain will be hyped to be a solution for many IoT problems, and it will turn out that it is not the best solution for most of problems it is hyped for – and maybe it will find few sensible uses for it in IoT. Blockchain can add immutability and integrity to some IoT transactions.
3. 4G mobile for IoT: NB-IoT and LTE-M are ready to be tested or used in many markets
4. 5G will be hyped a lot for IoT applications but it is nowhere near for any real big IoT use cases
6. Security issues will be talked a lot. IoT security is far from solved issue.
7. Privacy issues of IoT will be talked a lot when our homes and pockets are starting to be filled with ever listening digital assistants.
8. Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) will be massive
9. More CPU power will be added or used in the edge. Pushing processing power to the “edge” brings a number of benefits and opportunities.
10. Hardware based security: Hardware based security on microprocessors will be talked a lot after “Meltdown” and “Spectre” disaster
Links to more predictions:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2017/12/19/the-top-8-iot-trends-for-2018/#17a9943267f7
https://www.ibm.com/blogs/internet-of-things/top-5-iot-trends-in-2018/
https://www.inc.com/james-paine/3-internet-of-things-trends-to-watch-in-2018.html
https://www.i-scoop.eu/iot-2018-1/
https://dzone.com/articles/iot-trends-for-2018
1,393 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
AI, cloud, and IoT will drive 2018 growth, say chip makers
https://venturebeat.com/2018/02/13/ai-cloud-and-iot-will-drive-2018-growth-say-chip-makers/
Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and the internet of things (IoT) will have bigger impacts on the revenues of chip makers in 2018, according to accounting firm KPMG‘s survey of 150 semiconductor industry leaders.
Two-thirds of the leaders cited IoT as one of the top revenue drivers, up from 56 percent in last year’s survey. Cloud computing and AI were each cited by 43 percent of leaders, compared to 27 percent last year for cloud and 18 percent for AI. Wireless communications was at the top of the list, but it was cited by fewer respondents this year.
“The increasing demand for IoT, AI, and cloud applications is driven by their individual value and their value to each other. Cloud infrastructure is critical to enabling AI and capturing IoT-produced data. AI will enable better analysis and use of the data,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT Security News: Attacks, Encryption and WAP3
https://www.securerf.com/iot-security-news-attacks-encryption-wap3/?utm_campaign=Email%20Newsletter&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=60630234&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_ZoLw-dUmyTFSqwBw_7IfsbowW5acHhz5zbxqkfx3fO83GsP5vmTdxfwpkJLy32i_UBfj1_wIyly9lgXq7C0ZJj00SEbStgXfTILlyyyEnxtuTlgA&_hsmi=60630234
The new year kicked off with major security-related news. On January 3, we learned that billions of CPUs are vulnerable to the Meltdown and Spectre side-channel attacks, which can be used to access sensitive data, including passwords, cryptography keys, and files. Since then, chip makers and cloud service providers have been scrambling to develop and deploy patches for the vulnerabilities.
The Unbreakable 7,775
FBI Director Christopher Wray called unbreakable encryption an “urgent public safety issue” during an early January talk at the International Conference on Cybersecurity (ICCS) in New York. According to Wray, the FBI was unable to break into 7,775 devices during the last year. “Warrant-proof” encryption has been debated by tech leaders, politicians, and law enforcement since 2016
WAP3 Is on Its Way
Last fall, WIRED reported that the Key Reinstallation Attack (KRACK) Wi-Fi security exploit would affect wireless devices for decades to come. Fortunately, in early January, the Wi-Fi Alliance—which includes Apple, Microsoft, and Intel—announced WPA3 security protections to replace the flawed WPA2 security protocol. Here are the key points according to the Alliance:
The Alliance will maintain WPA2 and will not immediately replace it with WPA3
“Robust protections” for users who do not follow password complexity recommendations
Simplified configuration for devices with no display or a limited display
Compliance with the Commercial National Security Algorithm (CNSA) Suite
Individualized data encryption for users using open networks
The Alliance did not provide technical details with its announcement.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chip Aging Accelerates
https://semiengineering.com/chip-aging-accelerates/
As advanced-node chips are added into cars, and usage models shift inside of data centers, new questions surface about reliability.
Reliability is becoming an increasingly important proof point for new chips as they are rolled out in new markets such as automotive, cloud computing and industrial IoT, but actually proving that a chip will function as expected over time is becoming much more difficult.
In the past, reliability generally was considered a foundry issue. Chips developed for computers and phones lasted an average of two to four years of normal use. After that, functionality began to degrade and users upgraded to the next rev of a product, which boasted more features, better performance and, longer periods between battery charges. But as chips are developed for new markets, or markets where there were less-sophisticated electronics in the past-automotive, machine learning, IoT and IIoT, virtual and augmented reality, home automation, cloud, cryptocurrency mining-this is no longer a simple checklist item.
Each of those end markets has unique needs and characteristics, which affects how chips are used and under what conditions. That, in turn, has a big impact on aging, safety, and other factors.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Secure Development Lifecycle for Hardware Becomes an Imperative
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1332962
Given recent events, its time for chip makers to take a page from the software vendor handbook and step up their game in heading off potentially costly threats.
A Secure Development Lifecycle (SDL) for hardware with appropriate hardware security products could have prevented the recent Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities affecting Intel, ARM and AMD processor architectures. An SDL is the process of specifying a security threat model and then designing, developing and verifying against that threat model.
Many in the software domain are familiar with SDL, which is a process invented by Microsoft to improve the security of software. To make this process as efficient as possible, the software domain is filled with widely deployed static and dynamic analysis tools to provide automation around security review for various stages of the development lifecycle.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Design small, wearable, battery-powered IoT solutions
https://www.edn.com/design/power-management/4460306/Design-small–wearable–battery-powered-IoT-solutions
The Internet of Things (IoT) relies on hardware with the smallest size and the least power loss. Common design goals of size and efficiency for a power design tend to be mutually exclusive and so tradeoffs are unavoidable. This usually requires the designer to compromise with an increase in product size to obtain a specific power consumption goal. However, with an integrated power management IC (PMIC) operating three independent switching regulator outputs while using a single inductor, both size and power loss are minimized to enable IoT hardware with a compact form factor operating from a Li+ cell.
The proliferation of the internet across all sectors, from residential and commercial to industrial, continues to fuel exponential growth in data acquisition. Autonomous “smart” things – i.e., appliances, automotive, healthcare and wearable devices, robotics, and other technologies that can identify themselves on the internet – process data and collectively form the network commonly known as the IoT. Although the definition of a “smart” thing in the IoT world loosely defines a node that generates information of substantial value, the implementation details of the hardware responsible for data acquisition requires meticulous design planning.
Maximize battery capacity
A battery is a temporary, unregulated power source for portable electronics that comes in two flavors: primary, which defines a one-time use power source, and secondary, which in general provides half the energy density but allows recharging. The most common rechargeable cell chemistries are lithium-ion (Li+) with a nominal voltage of near 3.7V: LiMn2O4, LiCoO2, LiNiO2, Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (NCM), and Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide (NCA). One rechargeable cell chemistry – LiFePO4 – has a nominal voltage around 3.3V. While powering a device, the battery becomes loaded due to its finite source resistance. As a result, the available voltage of the battery decreases while in use due to the current consumption of the load.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Teardown: Amazon Dash Wand with Alexa
https://www.edn.com/design/consumer/4460319/Teardown–Amazon-Dash-Wand-with-Alexa
At intro, for Amazon Prime subscribers such as my household, the Dash Wand was effectively free (well, ok, I ended up paying $0.90 in sales tax): buy it, activate it, and a $20 Amazon gift card shows up in your account in short order. You don’t even need to use the Dash Wand to actually order anything before you get the kickback … therefore this teardown. But as I said, you still needed to activate it. And given that I ordered it direct from Amazon, it (like many of its Amazon-branded peers) shipped pre-configured with my account and preferred Wi-Fi network credentials already stored; setting it up via the Amazon smartphone app was therefore incredibly easy
I’ve (for privacy-preservation reasons) grey box-blocked out both the UPC and alphanumeric sequence associated with my unit’s DSN (Dash Serial Number). This code, as its name implies, is device-specific and is also associated with my pre-configured Amazon account information.
In the upper right corner is a Wolfson Microelectronics (now Cirrus Logic) WM8904 audio IC for driving the speaker and handling the microphone input. The microphone itself is on the far right, next to the QR code sticker; you’ll shortly see how the incoming audio gets to it. At the lower right corner, below the WM8904, is the speaker’s twisted-pair connector. In the middle is the main system processor, an Atmel (now owned by Microchip) ATSAMG55J19A-MU (PDF) ARM Cortex-M4-based microcontroller. In the upper left corner is Texas Instruments’ TPS61091 3.3V-output boost converter. And in the lower left corner is a Micron M25Q128A serial-interface NOR flash memory.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Edge servers ease network congestion
https://www.edn.com/design/systems-design/4459044/Edge-servers-ease-network-congestion
Many upcoming networked applications demand massive bandwidths and real-time communication in small form-factor edge servers with dedicated interfaces. COM Express Type 7 server-on-module boards are appropriate platforms for designing such dedicated micro servers for the edges.
Public and private network operators need to provide an appropriate infrastructure for 1 GbE (Gigabit Ethernet) enabled devices. As more and more devices get connected, they need to eliminate oversubscription ratios in 1 GbE switched networks. A 10 GbE network is consequently the next logical step, as existing CAT 6/7-class infrastructures can be re-used. But it is not only the oversubscription that calls for more network bandwidth. There are also many high-performance applications demanding increased speed. Application areas include but are not limited to:
Access edges to broadcasting infrastructures
Service provider datacenters for video and audio streaming as well as SaaS
Local carrier-grade infrastructures for the mobile edge
Metropolitan and larger private networks
Cloud and edge servers on enterprise level
Storage attached networks (SANs) for Big Data storage
Intelligent switching technologies and smart NAS devices
Fog servers in Industry 4.0 applications
Edge nodes for wireless smart sensor networks
Collaborative deep learning computers
Different real-time demands
Most of these applications have not only massive bandwidth demands, but also demand real-time communication capabilities – a video stream for example. Tolerable latency here ranges from 6 to 20 ms [1]. Similar latency demands occur everywhere in networked applications because nobody wants to wait for the system once an application’s button has been clicked.
Consider autonomous vehicles used in intralogistics applications, or cyber-virtual factories where many hard real-time PLCs need to be synchronized, and where collaborative deep learning robots need to have situational awareness by ultrasound and video streams, and act without any delay. Here, the latency limits get even tougher, and overstepping a limit is critical as it can lead to unacceptable system failures or hazardous situations. So one can see that there are different real-time demands in networked applications, which is why any server technology has to deal with real-time capabilities.
Managing the design challenge of customization
Exactly for these heterogeneous systems, the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group (PICMG) launched the new COM Express Type 7 server-on-module specification to help engineers overcome the design challenge of building dedicated server technologies at viable price points by utilizing commercial, off-the-shelf components. Servers-on-module are application-ready components that offer engineers design efficiency, as they only need to design an application-specific carrier board.
Time-sensitive networking support
Since real-time support is key for these server designs, server-on-modules also support a software-definable pin for each of the 10 GbE interfaces. This physical pin can be configured as an input or output and is driven by the corresponding Ethernet controller. A typical application is the implementation of a hardware-based IEEE 1588 timing protocol for high-performance real-time applications to realize 802.1 timing and synchronization of distributed real-time systems. Possible applications include converged networks with real-time audio/video streaming, and real-time control streams which are used in automotive or industrial control facilities.
By implementing 802.1 compliant time-sensitive networking, designers can ensure that all devices have a common understanding of time, and that they use the same rules in processing and forwarding communication packets, selecting communication paths, and in reserving bandwidth and time slots – possibly utilizing more than one simultaneous path to achieve fault-tolerant failover modes
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart homes are easy to hack
12 out of 16 smart locks hacked at Def Con
https://www.tekniikkatalous.fi/tekniikka/ict/alykas-koti-on-helppo-hakkeroida-12-alylukkoa-16-sta-murrettiin-6701257
Tomi Engdahl says:
Energy-efficient encryption for the internet of things
http://news.mit.edu/2018/energy-efficient-encryption-internet-of-things-0213
Special-purpose chip reduces power consumption of public-key encryption by 99.75 percent, increases speed 500-fold.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google to acquire Xively IoT platform from LogMeIn for $50M
https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/15/google-to-acquire-xively-iot-platform-from-logmein/
Google announced today that it intends to buy Xively from LogMeIn for $50 million, giving Google Cloud an established IoT platform to add to their product portfolio.
In a blog post announcing the acquisition, Google indicated it wants to use this purchase as a springboard into the growing IoT market, which it believes will reach 20 billion connected things by 2020. With Xively they are getting a tool that enables device designers to build connectivity directly into the design process while providing a cloud-mobile connection between the end user app and the connected thing, whatever that happens to be.
“This acquisition, subject to closing conditions, will complement Google Cloud’s effort to provide a fully managed IoT service that easily and securely connects, manages and ingests data from globally dispersed devices,” Antony Passemard from Google wrote in the blog post.
https://blog.logmeininc.com/logmein-announces-intent-sell-xively-business-google/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Blockchain & IoT Convergence: Is It Happening?
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1332967
The centralized architecture of most IoT solutions means that there is serious potential lack of resilience. Blockchain is an emerging technology that could help with system resiliency.
Many obstacles are slowing down the adoption of the IoT.
First, the market for IoT devices and platforms is fragmented, with many standards and many vendors. There is ongoing uncertainty about the technology, the vendors and the solutions offered.
Second, there are concerns about interoperability, as the solutions implemented often tend to create new data silos.
Data in the cloud is often stored securely, but cloud-based security implementations cannot protect your data against devices with compromised integrity, nor against data tampering at the source.
Blockchain is an emerging technology that could help with system resiliency.
According to IBM, the three benefits of blockchain for the IoT are building trust, cost reduction and the acceleration of transactions:
Building trust between the parties and devices with blockchain cryptography and reducing the risk of collusion and tampering
Reducing cost by removing the overhead associated with middlemen and intermediaries
Accelerating transactions by reducing the settlement time from days to nearly instantaneous
How would a blockchain-based system accomplish all of this? IBM’s point of view is that all devices in the blockchain should have the resources to run the blockchain software. With every element in an IoT system able to process blockchain data, suddenly blockchain becomes the solution to every problem! Well, not entirely.
A key element of distributed ledgers is that they are open; they are not usually ‘owned’ by any one entity. Any computer connected to a distributed ledger is called a ‘node’. Most of the nodes are lightweight (or at least lightweight relative to the capacities of cloud servers), and so they don’t hold the full ledger. Each ‘block’ within the ledger has a maximum size of 1 MB. A small desktop computer can easily hold a full copy of the ledger, but this is not the case with the majority of IoT devices. Any blockchain system needs at least a few ‘full nodes’ containing the complete ledger.
Another issue is that you need the proper security credentials to view a transaction. So, IoT security issues are still present when using this technology. Device commissioning and secure key management are still ongoing issues with IoT devices, and not solved by blockchain.
Yet despite these benefits, the blockchain model is not without its shortcomings. These include:
Scalability. Blockchain does not yet scale very well. This might lead back to centralization, defeating the purpose of the distributed ledger.
Processing power. Small devices do not have the power required to perform encryption for all the objects involved in a blockchain-based ecosystem. The forecasted billions of IoT devices will be produced in very large volumes and at very low cost, and the majority of these devices will not be capable of running the required encryption algorithms at the desired speed.
Storage. Even if blockchain eliminates the need for a central server to store transactions and device IDs, the ledger has to be stored on the nodes themselves. The ledger will increase in size as time passes. This is beyond the capabilities of a wide range of smart devices such as sensors, which have very low storage capacity (either internal flash memory or external NOR or NAND flash).
Lack of expertise. Few people understand how blockchain technology works. Mixing blockchain and IoT technologies adds great complexities to a system.
Interoperability issues. It is well known that the value of the IoT rises when you can combine data sources. We already lack data model standards for many vertical markets. Adding blockchain to the mix will only make this issue more difficult, not to mention the legal and compliance issues that such transaction management will create.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT Chip Security with Highly Secure Manufacture and Test Service
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/eeweb/news/iot-chip-security-with-highly-secure-manufacture-and-test-service
The recent Meltdown and Spectre problems have highlighted the vulnerability of computer chips to hacking that can, at least, be addressed through software patches. However, another area that is increasingly a target for hackers is IoT where each node in an IoT network can provide an entry point to a company’s corporate systems, in a similar manner to the way that home security cameras, robot vacuum cleaners, etc. have been hacked. Presto Engineering is offering a comprehensive manufacturing and test service that is tailored to ensure IoT chips are made to high standards of security.
“According to analysts, there are already billions of IoT chips in use,” said Martin Kingdon, Presto’s VP of Sales. “This figure is predicted to grow exponentially, driven by the ability of IoT to monitor and provide hard data on which actions can be taken, such as scheduling pre-emptive maintenance before a failure can happen. But the rush to design and make IoT chips has often meant that security has been overlooked, or not included, in the drive to a lower price. This is false economy as these chips can be vulnerable to hacking giving access to confidential data streams.”
Handling these securely in the manufacturing supply chain is vital to an effective security strategy and is covered by the Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation standards. These range from the basic Evaluation Assurance Level 1 to Level 7 for government and military, with Level 5 being typical for banks, payment systems, and other highly demanding commercial application.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Week in Review: IoT
NXP’s value; port IoT; 31B connected devices.
https://semiengineering.com/the-week-in-review-iot-83/
National Instruments introduced the IC-3173 IP67 Industrial Controller, which is suitable for Industrial IoT applications in harsh environments. The controller incorporates time-sensitive networking and can help engineers integrate highly synchronized sensor measurements with the new TSN-enabled CompactDAQ Chassis.
Market Research
IHS Markit predicts this year will see more than 31 billion connected IoT devices deployed around the world. The firm’s IoT Trend Watch report identifies four key drivers of IoT technology: Innovation and competitiveness; business models; standardization and security; and wireless technology innovation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
San Diego-based ON World forecasts 141 million low-power wide-area networking devices will connect in smart cities around the world by 2022, a 12x increase. The firm’s “Smart Cities LPWA” report is available here
https://www.onworld.com/smartcitiesLPWAN/
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT in Action: 3 considerations for securing everyday IoT devices
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332906
From industrial machinery to self-driving automobiles to toasters, the next decade promises the democratization of connectivity to every electrical device. But along with the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) comes the all-important question of security.
An IoT-enabled device as seemingly benign as a teddy bear can be compromised and used to spy, deceive, or worse.
But IoT security done well means you don’t have to let these attacks deter you from building your own IoT solution.
Download and read the report by Microsoft Research NExT Operating Systems Technologies Group to learn more about how to secure your IoT devices.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/SevenPropertiesofHighlySecureDevices.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Announcing “Project Things” – An open framework for connecting your devices to the web.
https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2018/02/06/announcing-project-things-open-framework-connecting-devices-web/
Last year, we said that Mozilla is working to create a framework of software and services that can bridge the communication gap between connected devices. Today, we are pleased to announce that anyone can now build their own Things Gateway to control their connected device directly from the web.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The indoor air quality IoT solution won
The Future City Challenge, organized by IBM, Digita and Etteplan, together with the Finnish cities, culminated yesterday in the selection of the Grande Finale and the winner. The winner was selected by the City of Espoo, Heads’n Tails, whose solution permits a healthy indoor environment for schools and kindergartens.
In the winning TeamTeamTails air quality IoT measurement solution, sensor data is combined with people’s physical experience feedback and information from different systems. The solution includes predictable machine flight analysis and can be integrated into existing city systems. The implementation also allows for a proactive analysis to address the situation before problems arise.
Source: https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/02/15/sisailman-iot-ratkaisu-voitti/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Computing at the Edge of IoT
https://medium.com/google-developers/computing-at-the-edge-of-iot-140a888007bd
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Rise and Fall of the XBee Form Factor?
https://blog.hackster.io/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-xbee-form-factor-884f69d32dda
At one point, the curiously shaped XBee form factor was more-or-less ubiquitous in the maker community with a number of third-party radios and shields imitating it, providing everything from Bluetooth to UART interfaces.
However it’s been a while since I’ve seen a new XBee-shaped board released, so I was a little bit surprised to come across the SuperB on Crowd Supply.
The SuperB is an open source, ESP32-based module for quickly and easily adding Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to your projects. It is XBee form factor compatible with 3.3V levels, UART, SPI, and GPIOs all broken out to appropriate headers.
What makes the SuperB’s arrival somewhat more poignant is that its arrival marks the demise of the form factor, as Digi recently announced the next generation of XBee modules which look nothing like the traditional quirky XBee. The new XBee form factor is the now ubiquitous castellated module.
Often destined to be mounted on other circuit boards, the castellated module is now the default way to get today’s tiny surface-mount parts into the hands of a wider community that often doesn’t have the tools, or the skills, to make use of them directly.
arrival of the ESP8266, which led to an ESP-12-like form factor becoming a default.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microcontroller or Microprocessor: Which Is Right for Your New Product?
https://blog.hackster.io/microcontroller-or-microprocessor-which-is-right-for-your-new-product-de9259dc9f5
Just about any new electronic product requires some sort of “brains”. The question though is what type of brains does your product really need? There are two choices: a microcontroller unit (MCU) or a microprocessor unit (MPU).
Microprocessor (MPU) = CPU
Microcontroller (MCU) = CPU + Memory + Peripherals
The first rule to remember is that whenever it is possible, use a microcontroller! Only consider a microprocessor if it is absolutely required.
Tomi Engdahl says:
It’s time to start thinking differently about IoT
https://www.networkworld.com/article/3257634/internet-of-things/it-s-time-to-start-thinking-differently-about-iot.html
The sooner we stop focusing on the most misguided of IoT applications, the sooner we can realize the field’s full potential – and reap the benefits of the technology that are already here.
A steady churn of stunningly useless consumer devices has turned IoT into a running joke in the tech community. Worse yet, some applications have gone beyond the silly and into the realm of scary
But there’s a whole other side to IoT. Far removed from the world of consumer gadgetry, IoT is being used behind the scenes to solve real problems and create real value across a wide variety of applications and industries.
Although these products are technically “things that are connected to the internet”, treating them as accurate representations of IoT is more than a little unfair.
Real IoT happens behind the scenes
By far and away, the most compelling applications of IoT are the ones that you’ll never interact with. From manufacturing to environmental conservation, IoT is already quietly being used to overcome a wide variety of long-standing challenges
Tomi Engdahl says:
Arm delivers integrated SIM identity to secure next wave of cellular IoT devices
https://www.arm.com/news/2018/02/arm-delivers-integrated-sim-identity-to-secure-next-wave-of-cellular-iot-devices
News highlights:
Arm introduces new technologies to deliver SIM grade identity for cellular IoT at a cost point that scales to billions of devices
Arm® Kigen™ family delivers integrated SIM functionality to IoT SoC designs, and a flexible remote provisioning server solution for OEMs, MNOs and IoT platforms
Broad industry support for evolution of SIM technology
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Rise of Connected Fintech Hardware
https://blog.hackster.io/the-rise-of-connected-fintech-hardware-cc691dc42618
Right now in the United Kingdom there’s a bit of a banking revolution going on — the so-called “challenger banks” are not just mobile first, but mobile only. Without branches, or the creaking legacy technology stacks of the traditional retail banks, these banks live on your smartphone rather than on main street.
So with the challenger banks eating their own dog food, and their developer API, as they build out their mobile applications, and the bigger retail banks being forced to offer similar access via the Open Banking API, things are starting to get interesting. While most of the third-party applications getting built are the expected ‘money management’ applications, there have been some interesting projects built around the new interfaces.
The idea that physical hardware could be integrated with online banking to make things more tangible is an interesting one.
making our money tangible once again as part of our environment and associated with our smart objects—becomes important.
Yet while most of today’s internet connected smart objects are blatantly creations of technology, connected APIs and machine learning can be utilized to develop interfaces where user interaction can be more natural.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Week in Review: IoT
Foxconn’s $4B; Amazon buys Blink; Brewer’s services.
https://semiengineering.com/the-week-in-review-iot-85/
Amazon reportedly paid about $90 million in late 2017 to acquire Blink, a supplier of home security cameras, Reuters reports
Google has agreed to acquire the Xively division of LogMeIn for a reported $50 million. The search giant would gain an IoT platform in the purchase, complementing Google Cloud’s goal of offering a fully managed IoT service.
Sierra Wireless introduced the AirLink LX60 low-power, wide-area cellular router for commercial and enterprise IoT applications. The cloud-managed router supports LTE Cat-4, LTE-M, and narrowband IoT connectivity.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cars Could Chat Over Cellular Networks by 2020
http://www.electronicdesign.com/automotive/cars-could-chat-over-cellular-networks-2020?NL=ED-004&Issue=ED-004_20180222_ED-004_964&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=15494&utm_medium=email&elq2=6b402fafb5d54de29b2eebbec2bf5038
Cars that share their location, speed, and other information over cellular networks will be commercialized by 2020, according to a report released Thursday by the 5G Automotive Association.
The 70-member group said that car manufacturers would start to test hardware for cellular vehicle-to-everything or C-V2X next year. They would install it in vehicles the year after that to help cars automatically avoid crashes in low visibility situations, send collision warnings to drivers, and contribute to traffic and weather reports.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ultrasound for IoT Wakeup vs. RF: Lower Power, Smaller Size
http://www.electronicdesign.com/power/ultrasound-iot-wakeup-vs-rf-lower-power-smaller-size?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20180222_ED-003_22&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=15503&utm_medium=email&elq2=86779a468ad346b4a2235396b30a952e
Although low-power RF is the link generally used to initiate a “wakeup” signal to quiescent IoT devices, Stanford researchers developed an IC alternative based on 57-kHz ultrasound.
Even power-miserly IoT devices in quiescent mode can drain their battery over time, so the challenge is to have their wakeup circuitry—which is on the alert for a coded signal—use absolutely minimal power. The conventional approach is to always have the IoT device looking for a coded RF signal which, when recognized, tells it to wake up, fulfill its function, then go back to sleep.
But a paper presented at the recent International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) by researchers from Stanford University detailed the use of ultrasound as an alternative approach to RF wakeup receivers (WuRXs), resulting in lower power requirements and smaller size than the RF technique.
graduate student Angad Singh Rekhi, discusses use of the highly sensitive ultrasonic transducers to detect a wakeup signature while using as little as 1 nW for the associated electronics
This approach requires less power and has smaller size compared to RF antenna miniaturization
The ultrasonic (US) WuRX is based on a precharged, capacitive micromachined ultrasound transducer (CMUT) developed and fabricated by another Stanford group, and has power consumption of just a few nanowatts.
To reduce power requirements, the chip doesn’t use closed-loop timing recovery or even a crystal. Instead, the timing issues are resolved by oversampling the data.
The WuRX chip, fabricated by TSMC using a 65-nm CMOS general-purpose process, runs on 0.5 V and measures 1 × 1.5 mm. Dissipation of the IC plus CMUT is under 8 nW.
a data rate of 62.5 bits/s—more than adequate for the application
Tomi Engdahl says:
Industry 4.0 and cybersecurity Managing risk in an age of connected production
https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/focus/industry-4-0/cybersecurity-managing-risk-in-age-of-connected-production.html
The fourth industrial revolution brings a new operational risk for smart manufacturers and digital supply networks: cyber. In the age of Industry 4.0, cybersecurity strategies should be secure, vigilant, and resilient, as well as fully integrated into organizational strategy from the start.
For cyber risk to be adequately addressed in the age of Industry 4.0, cybersecurity strategies should be secure, vigilant, and resilient, as well as fully integrated into organizational and information technology strategy from the start.
Developing a fully integrated strategic approach to cyber risk is fundamental to manufacturing value chains as they marry operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT)—the very force driving Industry 4.0.
Industry 4.0 technologies are expected to prompt a further evolution in the traditional linear supply chain structure by introducing intelligent, connected platforms and devices across the ecosystem, resulting in a digital supply network (DSN) capable of capturing data from points across the value chain to inform each other. The result may be better management and flow of materials and goods, more efficient use of resources, and supplies that more appropriately meet customer needs.4
For all its benefits, however, the increasing interconnectedness of the DSN also brings with it cyber weaknesses that should be properly planned and accounted for in every stage, from design through operation, to prevent significant risks.
The cyber risks of sharing data across the DSN
As the DSN evolves, one expected outcome is the creation of a network that allows real-time, dynamic pricing of materials or goods based upon the demand of purchasers relative to the supply available.5 But a responsive, agile network of this nature is made possible only by open data sharing from all participants in the supply network, which creates a significant hurdle; it will likely be difficult to strike a balance between allowing transparency for some data and maintaining security for other information.
Connected production creates new cyber challenges
As production systems grow ever more connected, cyberthreats increase and broaden beyond those seen in the DSN. It is not hard, for example, to imagine that misused or manipulated requests for ad hoc production lines can result in financial loss, low product quality, and even safety concerns for workers. Further, connected factories may be vulnerable to shutdowns or other attacks. Moreover, evidence exists that manufacturers may not be prepared for the cyber risks their connected, smart systems present: A 2016 Deloitte-MAPI study found that one-third of manufacturers have not performed any cyber risk assessments of industrial control systems (ICS) operating on factory floors.
Building cybersecurity into the design process from the start
Manufacturers may be feeling a growing responsibility to deploy hardened, almost military-grade connected devices. Many have articulated a need for IoT device manufacturers to incorporate secure coding practices that include planning, designing, and incorporating cybersecurity leading practices from the beginning and throughout the hardware and software development life cycle.22 This secure software development life cycle (S-SDLC) incorporates security gateways throughout the development process to assess whether security controls are effective, implements security leading practices, and uses secure software code and libraries to produce a functional and secure device. Many of the vulnerabilities identified by IoT product security assessments can be addressed early in the design process via S-SDLC security. It is often more costly and can be much more difficult, if not impossible, to apply security as a patch at the end of a traditional development life cycle.
The safety of sensitive data throughout the data life cycle will likely also need to be protected with the same sound security approach required to produce hardened devices. IoT device manufacturers would therefore need to develop approaches to maintain protection: not only securely store all device, local, and cloud-stored data but also quickly detect and report any conditions or activities that may jeopardize the security of those data.
A truly vigilant threat detection capability may need to leverage the power of AI to identify the proverbial needle in a haystack. Existing signature-based threat detection technologies, inundated with the ever-increasing data produced by IoT devices, could be pushed to their limits while trying to reassemble data streams and perform stateful packet inspection.
The combination of ASR, S-SDLC, data protection, secure and hardened device hardware and firmware, machine learning, and use of AI to power real-time responses to threats may be critical in moving forward with a secure, vigilant, and resilient approach to Industry 4.0–enabled devices. The failure to address security risks, such as those demonstrated by Stuxnet and Mirai malware exploits, and to manufacture hardened and secure IoT devices may result in a cyber landscape where attacks to critical infrastructure and attacks to manufacturing are crippling and commonplace.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IT Security made in Europe
Competence Series
Industry 4.0 = Security 4.0?
https://www.infosecurityeurope.com/__novadocuments/380509?v=636385704751430000
Industry 4.0 = Security 4.0?
Industry 4.0 is the term used to describe the fourth industrial revolution, the future of industrial production
based on the “Internet of Things”. Its characteristics include a high level of product individualisation and an
ability to simultaneously take account of the requirements of dynamic (high-volume) production. Factories are
turning into smart factories. Processes are being controlled and coordinated in real time across national and
corporate boundaries. To succeed, it will require the standardisation and modularisation of the individual process
steps and the programming of virtually editable models of these modules. Product individualisation enables
companies in many industries to produce a large number of product variants at low cost, and in doing so, to
satisfy individual customer needs. Companies can react flexibly to market developments, to rapid changes in
product requirements or fluctuating commodity prices. This high level of adaptability is accompanied by an
improved utilisation of production capacities, whilst the flexible management of resources serves to improve
overall operating efficiency. More accurate calculations mean that less material is needed, which reduces inven-
tory and manufacturing costs.
Industry 4.0 means opportunities and challenges. Integrating the concept within an organisation means opening
up the company’s IT infrastructure, making it more susceptible to errors and more vulnerable to attack. Unfor
-
tunately, intruders will not stop trying to find new ways of breaking into business networks.
Risk scenarios
Scenario 1
Attackers install malicious programs and block all production and logistics operations. Production and capacity
utilisation data are inspected, and application and system data manipulated. In a worst-case scenario, a misdi-
rected machine could cause physical damage in its vicinity.
Scenario 2
Commands to industrial robots are sent via embedded systems, which are usually connected to a programmable
logic controller. The control components are linked to the Internet. An attacker can therefore read application
4
and system data, install data packets designed to sabotage the production lines, related systems or even the
entire corporate IT infrastructure.
Scenario 3
Social engineering: attackers exploit human characteristics, such as helpfulness, trust, curiosity or fear, to manip-
ulate employees and gain access to data, to circumvent security precautions or to install malicious code on their
computers. Their objective is to spend time undisturbed inside the company’s network.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Week in Review: IoT
Startup funding; Arm Kigen; NIST wants comments.
https://semiengineering.com/the-week-in-review-iot-86/
Under pressure from activist investors and Broadcom’s unsolicited takeover bid, Qualcomm this week increased the price it will pay for shares of NXP Semiconductors to $127.50 in cash, up from $110.
Arm is offering a novel approach to IoT device cybersecurity – making an integrated SIM card, or iSIM, as part of a system-on-a-chip design. The Arm Kigen line would enable the combination of a microcontroller, a cellular modem, and SIM identity in an SoC. The line includes the Kigen operating system with a GSMA-compliant software stack and the Kigen remote provisioning server for uncomplicated integration with mobile network operators and IoT platforms.
Google Cloud has taken Google Cloud IoT Core out of beta testing, making it generally available and providing fully managed services for sensors and other IoT devices. The cloud-based offering includes connectivity for receiving and sending data.
AT&T will work with Ericsson to expand its IoT professional services, launched in early 2017. These will include application solutions, consulting, device lifecycle solutions, managed services, and support for enterprises. AT&T also announced it is initiating the first phase of its edge computing test zone at the AT&T Foundry in Palo Alto, Calif.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is giving federal agencies and government contractors more detailed guidance on protecting the cybersecurity of IoT devices. Blockchain technology could be useful in IoT security, the agency reports. NIST is accepting comments on its draft report until April 18.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Using satellite technology to feed a growing world
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/out-of-this-world-design/4460328/Using-satellite-technology-to-feed-a-growing-world
Global population is predicted to increase to almost ten billion people by 2050, requiring food production to increase by 70%. At the same time, the amount of land available to grow crops is declining rapidly, with 95% of the world’s fare grown in soil. It is, therefore, incumbent that fields are used as efficiently as possible to guarantee security of food supply and long-term sustainability.
Farmers assessing their fields only get a limited view when visually checking for damage, weeds, or pests. Remote sensing using Earth observation satellites provide growers an aerial view to make quicker and more accurate assessments of their crops.
These observations are complemented by IoT sensors on the ground which determine soil moisture, pH, and leaf wetness, providing farmers near-realtime status of the cultivation of their fields. If data suggests they need to spray their plants with water, fertiliser, or pesticides, growers can combine the results with GPS data to instruct tractors how much treatment to apply, at which rate, and where in the field enabling true-precision farming.
Earth observation satellites are increasingly using passive hyperspectral sensors to measure the reflected sunlight in the visible and infrared wavelengths from objects within its field of view (swath).
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Pitfalls of Homegrown Update Mechanisms for Embedded Systems
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/ralphmender/articles/the-pitfalls-of-homegrown-update-mechanisms-for-embedded-systems
Performing secure and robust over-the-air (OTA) wireless updates for remotely-deployed embedded systems requires appropriate expertise and technology.
With the increasing number of embedded systems being connected, one oft-overlooked aspect is the software update mechanism. The focus is on applications and features, which is where developers should be spending their time, but this means that the update mechanism gets a backseat.
Many developers assume that the update mechanism won’t be that difficult; after all, “It’s just copying files over to the target.” The reality, as is often the case — especially in the case of over-the-air (OTA) wireless updates — is much more complex. Unfortunately, this simplified perception of an update mechanism has led many embedded teams into developing their own updater, which takes away from their time actually spent building their product.
Building an OTA update mechanism from scratch should be a remnant of the past as there are freely available open source options available, including the solutions from Mender.io
Robustness
A common scenario causing devices to brick (i.e., become completely unable to function) is when a loss of power or loss of network occurs during an update. One of the worst possible scenarios is to have one or more devices deployed remotely that — due to an interruption during an update — become unusable and bricked. The resiliency and reliability of the update process should be a chief concern given the dire consequences. Network or power loss is quite common with embedded systems in the field, which means this is a very real risk during an update process.
This is also one of the reasons why atomic installation of an update is required for embedded systems, whereby the update is either fully installed or not at all. Partial installations can create inconsistency in remotely deployed devices. Things can quickly become chaotic when a fleet of devices have different updates and the production devices do not match the test environment. Thus, it is a best practice in embedded systems to avoid non-atomic updates due to the lack of integrity they can produce.
While package-based updates are common in traditional Linux software (e.g., apt or yum), this approach is avoided in embedded Linux due to many issues. For example, there is difficulty managing a consistent set of packages installed across a fleet of devices.
The ability for reliable rollback is another key requirement. It is very common for the output of an embedded Linux CI build to be a complete root filesystem, thus having a dual bank approach is one of the simplest and most reliable ways to ensure the embedded system is robust with rollback to the other root filesystem.
Thus, the dual-root filesystem approach not only makes devices in the wild more resilient, but it also simplifies the build system by building all the packets in a reliable and predictable way.
Security
There are two primary security requirements with regard to the update mechanism. The first is Code signing (cryptographic validation), which ensures tight control over who can reprogram sensitive components on the target device. This is often overlooked
The other requirement with regards to security is ensuring you are using only encrypted communications between the deployment server and the target device. There should be bi-directionally authenticated communication between the client/server to avoid the risk of an update being modified while in transit
Over-the-air software updates for embedded Linux
Mender is an end-to-end open source updater for connected devices and IoT
https://mender.io/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Who Will Regulate Technology?
https://semiengineering.com/who-will-regulate-technology/
Why the whole tech industry needs to start thinking differently about what it creates.
Regardless, what’s at stake here is the tech industry’s ability to set its own agenda and to avoid problems that attract outside regulation, which in the case of complex systems and new technologies will not be anywhere near as informed as if those regulations are developed from within. It’s hard enough for engineers to understand what’s happening inside a chip, let alone explain it to a board of regulators appointed by elected officials. It’s hard enough to explain to different groups within the industry. There is a sharp contrast between how hardware and software engineers view problems, and how analog and digital engineers view problems and solutions.
So what exactly needs to be addressed? Top on the list is security. As more devices are connected, they need to adhere to some standard level of security for interoperability with other systems. This should be a checklist item, almost like UL certification or an EnergyStar rating for devices, and it needs be managed from within the tech industry. If something doesn’t adhere to known best practices for security, that should be evident to the consumer.
Second, international standards need be developed for privacy and ethics involving AI and quantum computing. What is acceptable behavior for machines? T
Third, there needs to be an infrastructure established to assess new developments and make recommendations as needed. The number of new markets for chips is exploding. It’s no longer just about chips for computers or mobile phones. It’s about ubiquitous technology that is connected to other technology.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Troubleshooting a Medical System
https://www.networkcomputing.com/networking/troubleshooting-medical-system/991377015
Peter Welcher reflects on the system engineer role and IoT after troubleshooting for a hospital.
An article about the role of a systems engineer hit home the other day. Key points were that the systems engineer had to understand how disparate technology pieces fit together, balancing which components do what functions, trading off costs and other factors, and considering the system’s risks and responses to possible failures, severity of impact, and mitigation.
Conclusion
When it comes to business applications, networks are part of a system, as are servers and storage. Good design balances performance and costs of those components.
The caution and IOT tie-in is that as the number of devices and/or data volumes get bigger, disk I/O can be significant. It is already, in terms of VM and server performance; but the symptoms will be more conspicuous. Network speeds will also matter, for data transfer times. E.g. medical resource, acquiring 10 TB of data per week!
Exercise for the reader: Analyze an important application in your network. What’s the key component or factor currently limiting performance? How could you make that component faster? What then becomes the new bottleneck?
Tomi Engdahl says:
GE Lighting finds buyer for EMEA operations
http://www.ledsmagazine.com/articles/2018/02/ge-lighting-finds-buyer-for-emea-operations.html?eid=293591077&bid=2015907
GE has taken a big step in unloading its lighting businesses, reaching an agreement to sell GE Lighting’s Budapest-based European, Middle East, and Africa operations (GE calls it EMEAT for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Turkey), plus GE’s Global Automotive Lighting group, to a company controlled by the former president of GE Hungary.
The entire workforce of those units — over 4000 people in total — will transfer to the new entity
GE Lighting focuses on conventional lighting as well as on the home LED market, while Current is an energy consulting group that digitally links commercial users’ LED lights, solar panels, electric batteries, car chargers, and the like to help reduce energy costs and consumption.
Philips Lighting will be no more: It’s changing its name
http://www.ledsmagazine.com/articles/2018/02/philips-lighting-will-be-no-more-it-s-changing-its-name.html?eid=293591077&bid=2015907
After a solid fourth quarter reaffirmed the importance of services and Internet connectivity to the company’s future, CEO Eric Rondolat reveals that a new moniker is coming soon.
The world’s largest lighting company said that sales for the quarter ending Dec. 31 and for the year were €1.89 billion and €6.97 billion, respectively. A 3% increase in comparable sales for the quarter helped nudge yearly comparable sales growth to 0.5%, reversing a decline that Philips had suffered in 2016, when the quarter fell by 3.2% and the year dropped by 2.4%.
The biggest percentage growth came in the home sector — a young market where Philips sells smart systems based on its Hue line of LED bulbs that change brightness, color, and CCT prompted by many different Internet inputs — followed by the professional sector, in which Philips typically sells Internet-connected lighting to cities and commercial entities. Both considerably outgrew LED electronics — circuitry that Philips sells to lamp and luminaire makers, which was flat for the quarter — as well as conventional lamps, which shrunk.
Tomi Engdahl says:
UWB Rallies Forces in the IoT
DecaWave preps alliance, new chip
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332995
Ultrawideband technology once a contender for use in mainstream notebook PCs is staging a comeback in the Internet of Things. Proponent DecaWave aims to set up a new trade group for UWB with a portion of the $30 million funding round it recently closed.
Several startups tried to establish the IEEE 802.15.3 version of UWB as a wireless alternative to USB and HDMI a decade ago, but their efforts failed to gain traction. DecaWave and others targeted the 802.15.4a version of UWB for personal-area location where it delivers centimeter accuracy over 100-200 meter distances — and its gaining traction.
About a half dozen companies now offer such UWB chips. DecaWave alone claims it has sold more than 4 million chips, has two users now consuming more than a million a year and other customers ready to move from trials to deployments.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT Adoption: Where Are We Now?
http://www.sealevel.com/community/blog/iot-adoption-where-are-we-now/
We’ve heard a lot of promises over the last decade about how Internet of Things (IoT) is going to change the world,especially in manufacturing, but what is the actual state of play right now? Is IoT taking off, or is it just another tech fad?
The first is Vodafone’s annual IoT barometer which looks at global IoT uptake across a number of sectors. The headline figure in this report is that IoT usage has doubled since 2013 — from 14 percent to 27 percent across all survey respondents.
The results are extremely positive, with 53 percent of respondents saying that they have seen a significant return on investment on their IoT projects, while 67 percent said that their IoT network is mission critical.
In manufacturing, the figures are much higher. A study by Bsquare found that 86 percent of respondents are using Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions, with 84 percent finding the solutions very or extremely effective. The construction and transportation industry led the way with 93 percent using IIoT.
What’s behind the uptake in IoT?
IoT and IIoT are being used to both increase revenues and decrease costs.
The most common usage of IIoT (90 percent) is monitoring device health, which helps to reduce repair costs and downtime. A further 67 percent use IIoT devices for logistics, although only 18 percent have found a way to increase production volumes through smart devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Three Key Areas Where IIoT Automation is Elevating Manufacturing Jobs
http://www.sealevel.com/community/blog/three-key-areas-where-iiot-automation-is-elevating-manufacturing-jobs/
There are mixed reactions about advanced technology applications in labor scenarios. “Robots stealing jobs” is the boogeyman of manufacturing workers’ concerns. Since the 1980s, people have been studying how changing technology will affect young workers, worrying it will make them and their jobs obsolete.
However, as we near closer to 2040 than 1990, some of those fears can be laid to rest with recent digital transformations. Contemporary innovations have grown increasingly complex and with them, increasingly complex jobs that cannot be done with AI or other automated tools.
According to a Manpower study conducted on 18 thousand employers over 40 countries, 83% of manufacturers anticipate maintaining or increasing employee numbers. According to the Institute for the Future, the increased headcount will be for jobs that don’t even exist yet, made possible by the IIoT revolution and other cloud-computing innovations, such as digital twins.
New educator roles will also crop up as workforce development will be needed to fulfill the requirements demanded. It is estimated that there will be a skill gap until apprenticeships and technical schools can provide the appropriate readiness to students.
IIoT Development Jobs
Of the new roles, these already attract resumes. IIoT developers come from coding schools, computer science and engineering degree programs, hobbyists and self-taught developers. These are individuals who can successfully engineer boards for IoT communications and operations as well as code software for IIoT applications.
IIoT developers may be from technology corporations or they may be in-house designers making proprietary products for specific manufacturing needs. Regardless of who employs them, they are essential to the IIoT operations of the future.
Potential job titles will change as well:
1. Smart Machine Operator – programs and supervises smart machine
2. Data Capture and Analysis Assistant – surveys data capture from IoT devices and compiles reports of analysis conducted automatically.
3. Network Specialist – an IT role, this individual will monitor the networks between assets to ensure data is being shared securely and accurately
4. Smart Line Team Member – a human member of the manufacturing team that works with machines to finalize a product
5. Smart Warehouse Supervisor – a lead manager who is responsible for smart machine installation, has a keen understanding of the technology behind the machines and keeps the intelligent system running
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT Eats Embedded with Security, AI
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1333000
The Internet of Things is eating the embedded systems market, and it’s hungry for more security and some AI sauce to go with it.
I talked to just three of the 30,000 engineers descending on Nuremberg for Embedded World this week, a small but significant sample. Michael Barr, CTO of the Barr Group, is presenting the results of his 2018 Embedded Systems Safety & Security Survey at the event.
The survey of 1,700 people found that 61% of all embedded designs are now at least occasionally connected to the internet. Surprise: They are not all secure.
The good news is that 67% of respondents said that security is a design consideration, up six points from the 2016 survey. But 22% said that security is not a product requirement; many admitted that they are not using best practices such as conducting regular code reviews — and less than half of all embedded engineers designing for the IoT encrypt their data.
Pressures to shave costs and get products to market fast can put security on the backburner. Even when it’s addressed, security is “a difficult problem because it’s a fragmented market with different operating systems, hardware configurations, and wired and wireless connections — there are a lot of attack surfaces and no one-size-fits-all solution,” said Barr.
His remedy boils down to getting educated, adopting best programming practices, using encryption, and erecting multiple barriers to attacks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT Knits a Factory Together
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1332884
A services company shares its experience weaving a thread and yarn maker into the era of the Internet of Things.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT Security Needs OEM, User Partnerhips
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1332985
Manufacturers and network administrators need to come together and weave a security defense for the Internet of Things.
For years, the security community warned of the possibility of attacks aimed at the Internet of Things. At the end of 2016, we finally got one, and it was a stunner. The Mirai-botnet used an estimated 100,000 Internet-connected cameras, routers and other IoT devices to attack DNS provider Dyn, slowing or stopping Web service for some of the Internet’s biggest names, like Twitter and eBay.
By the end of 2017, one in six businesses had suffered an attack from IoT devices. If current trends are any indication, we expect that number to rise. While the crop of new devices is growing, most are still no more secure than they were in 2016.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A team at MIT developed a new chip to lower the power consumption of public-key cryptography for IoT devices. Software execution of encryption protocols require more energy and memory space than embedded IoT sensors can typically spare, given the need to maximize battery life.
The new chip is hardwired to perform public-key encryption and consumes only 1/400 as much power as software execution of the same protocols would. It also uses about 1/10 as much memory and executes 500 times faster, according to the team.
The chip uses a technique called elliptic-curve encryption. While previous chips have been built to handle specific elliptic curves or families of curves, the new one can handle any elliptic curve.
“Cryptographers are coming up with curves with different properties, and they use different primes,” says Utsav Banerjee, an MIT graduate student in electrical engineering and computer science. “There is a lot of debate regarding which curve is secure and which curve to use,
Source: https://semiengineering.com/power-performance-bits-feb-27/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Enabling embedded devices for Internet of Things
https://www.mentor.com/embedded-software/events/mentor-embedded-iot-framework-enabling-embedded-devices-for-internet-of-things?contactid=1&PC=L&c=2018_02_27_esd_newsletter_update_feb_2018
With the proliferation of Internet Of Things (IoT) across industry verticals, connecting embedded devices in a reliable and secure fashion to the cloud has become a table stakes requirement. From low-end microcontroller based devices to high-end Linux based systems, a scalable and consistent set of run-time services and support infrastructure are needed to enable the devices to participate in the IoT system. These capabilities must include; secure on-boarding and communications, device management, firmware update management, health monitoring and diagnostics, and application lifecycle management. Because device manufacturers cannot predict the cloud environment(s) in which their devices will be deployed, it’s important that the solution can readily support multiple cloud platforms.
The Internet of Things has led to a landscape where device connectivity is now ubiquitous. While this trend has unleashed new and exciting use-cases, each connection expands the potential attack surface which makes strong device security a core requirement.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Generating Electricity is a Snap
A collaborative research project is making use of temperature fluctuations to produce electricity.
http://www.powerelectronics.com/alternative-energy/generating-electricity-snap?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20180228_ED-003_787&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=15646&utm_medium=email&elq2=1fabf038ff6447bdb785a26b49c511be
Tomi Engdahl says:
Who’s Responsible For Security?
https://semiengineering.com/whos-responsible-for-security-2/
Experts at the Table, part 2: Cheap components contaminating the supply chain, the need for platforms and certifications, and the futility of trying to future-proof devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New Class of Embedded Design Emerges to Support Virtualized Fog Servers
http://eecatalog.com/intel/2018/02/16/new-class-of-embedded-design-emerges-to-support-virtualized-fog-servers/?printView=on
Real time has taken on a new dimension with the advent of Industry 4.0. It is no longer enough for controls to communicate with sensors and actuators. Today, real-time communication is also required between industrial plants and machines as well as their incoming and outgoing systems, a demand being met by real-time-capable virtualized fog servers with redundant design for high availability.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The 5G street light pilot progresses as planned
LuxTurrim5G is a multidisciplinary ecosystem project of 11 companies and three research institutes coordinated by Spinvers, which develops and tests 5G connections based on smart light pillars and related services at Nokia’s campus in Karamalmi, Espoo. The project is proceeding as planned, and the current two pillars will continue to come under this year with ten new 5G smart lamp posts.
5G light bulb for LuxTurrim5G project in Latin, the 8×8 antenna matrix developed by Nokian Bell Labs will be installed on the columns. It works in the 70 gigahertz range. By controlling the phase of the antenna, the following link is made to the user / terminal device.
Since the turn of the year there have been two smart lamp posts. According to Spinversen Markku Heino, project co-ordinator, the columns have been integrated, among others. Vaisala’s weather and air quality sensors as well as the Teleste camcorder, which are currently under testing.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7650&via=n&datum=2018-03-02_15:11:35&mottagare=31202
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wired Connectivity is Still King in the Industrial IoT Realm
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/lantronix/articles/wired-connectivity-is-still-king-in-the-industrial-iot-realm
As more manufacturers deploy automation in their factories to improve production times and precision, the use of deterministic networks enabled by wired connections increases.
It’s no wonder that, as an industry, we’re excited by the impact of the Internet of Things (IoT), especially when even the more conservative forecasts (such as those from Gartner) estimate there will be 27 billion connected devices by 2025. Whether it’s in the home, like the millions of smart thermostats and home assistants that have already been sold, Tesla’s connected cars, Racchio’s intelligent irrigation systems, or connected pumps and motors in factories and refineries, we’re certainly in the IoT age.
Over the next eight years, the largest economic value generated from the IoT will come from companies in the industrial segment. According to a report by Cisco, the economic impact of the Industrial IoT (IIoT) could range between $3 trillion to $6 trillion annually by 2025.
The term IoT is typically associated with Wi-Fi, LORA, Sigfox, 3G, LTE, NB-IoT, and myriad other local area and wide area wireless communication technologies. Wireless connectivity has obvious advantages in cost and ease of installations, mobility, and user experience.
While it’s true that industrial end-users are embracing wireless technologies and the value and new services they can bring, the reality is that wired connectivity is still the preferred connectivity choice in IIoT implementation, and this reality is forecasted to last well into the future. Wired connections still have a vital part to play for big business in various mission-critical applications, and it’s unlikely that wireless technologies will replace them, at least not for many years.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Alarm management: 6 hazards, 4 strategies
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/alarm-management-6-hazards-4-strategies/06f274f4a1142df0400da326d93524e9.html
Alarm management in an IIoT world: Correlation and classification of industrial process control alarms before the operator sees them vital for safety, speed, and efficiency. Networking and advanced software tools help.
An alarm management system communicates any hindrance in the smooth functioning of plant operations. Plant manufacturing remains a key element of the overall business ecosystem and business continuity is a direct function of the uptime of such plants. Large displays that show a number of alarms and information associated with it could be baffling to the operator. This could strain human alertness levels and hamper the operator’s capacity to deal with a potential situation.
General results indicate a typical plant loses more than 5% of its total capacity each year due to slowdowns and an approximately equal amount due to off-spec product, quality giveaway, and other lost opportunities, not considering any unscheduled unit outages that might occur.
Smarter alarm classification
Correlation and classification of alarms before they are shown to the operator is vital. While information overload is a reality in the control room, only showing alerts on the screen is insufficient. It may be worthwhile to explore the business benefits brought about by the visual and aural indicators like sound buzzers and colored lights bulbs so as to capture the operators’ attention for dealing with the situation systematically. Companies also are exploring propositions around augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to complement alarm management.
Six prominent hazards are highlighted:
1. With the advent of low cost sensors and digital controls, the ease and low cost of adding alarms could lead to unchecked growth in the number of alarms installed at the plant. This leads to the problem of alarm floods, which is where the same fault triggers multiple alarms in a short span of time. This makes it difficult for operators to ascertain the underlying cause.
2. Multiple alarms show extensive amount of data to the operator. During an event when these alarms are triggered in a flood, it could lead to the operator missing critical signals in the chaos.
3. Without a disciplined alarm management program, the systems and momentum will be disrupted due to false triggers, which will prevent operators from correctly identify the critical alarms and signals.
4. Alarm systems that have not received the attention and resources that are warranted often encounter the issue of nuisance alarms, which are triggered when no abnormal condition exists or when no operator action is required.
5. Many alarms are assigned with the wrong priority, which makes it unimportant for the operator, and potentially meaningless. This can lead to the wrong choice of action when multiple alarms are triggered.
6. A number of plants still use the alarm management philosophy that was in practice when the plant was built. The systems are rarely revisited for revaluating the alarm limits and priorities, which leaves a question mark over the alarm system’s integrity and effectiveness. This adversely affects the speed and accuracy with which the operator can identify the alarms that require immediate action.
A plant needs a robust alarm management strategy that enhances operational efficiency and timely detection of failures.
Integrated alarms: 4 steps
Strategies are changing for deploying an efficient integrated alarm management system because of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The IIoT presents numerous opportunities for developing industrial applications that cater to broad ranging requirements like automated and pro-active monitoring, control, decentralized decision making and maintenance.
Integrated alarms should follow these four steps.
1. Alarm integration and correlation: Alarms in a plant typically come from disparate multivendor systems. These alarms should be integrated using IoT as it will enable the operator to quickly identify the underlying cause of the issue. Sensors can also be integrated over existing systems to augment the overall efficiency of the alarm management system.
2. New-age AR and VR: AR and VR technologies can save the operator a significant amount of time in resolving an issue.
3. Cloud-based alarm management: A cloud-based alarm management application enables an organization to enhance the overall alarm management mechanism. It also provides the plant manager access to real-time meaningful alarms even when being mobile or away from the plants to help facilitate quick action.
4. Integrated operator response guidance: It is likely an abnormal situation might arise where the operator is incapable of dealing with the situation efficiently. To overcome this challenge, one can integrate operator response guidance and abnormal situation response guidance into an alarm management strategy. It helps in improving operator effectiveness by providing the operator with the correct actions to take, depending on the situation.
The above strategies may not be always considered greenfield pursuits. These can be integrated with existing systems as well and be upgraded to modern requirements.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How To Secure The Network Edge
The risk of breaches is growing, and so is the potential damage.
https://semiengineering.com/how-to-secure-the-network-edge/
Microcontrollers, sensors, and other devices that live at the edge of the Internet must be protected against cyberattacks and intrusions just as much as the chips in data centers, network routers, and PCs. But securing those edge devices presents a swath of unique challenges, including the cost and availability of technology resources, as well as varying levels of motivation to solve these problems by both vendors and end users.
But securing the edge takes on new urgency as safety issues enter the picture. Assisted and autonomous driving essentially transform cars into Internet edge devices, where real-time responsiveness is required for accident avoidance and cloud-based connectivity is needed for such things as traffic and weather alerts. Likewise, embedded systems are being used to monitor and control critical infrastructure, and that data is being read by external monitors or devices at the edge of the network that are directly connected to those systems.
All of this raises the stakes for security. So how exactly do this issues get solved, and by whom?
“That’s a tricky question,” observed Robert Bates, chief safety officer for the Embedded Software Division at Mentor, a Siemens Business. “In some sense, those kinds of smart devices can be as secure as anything else connected to the network. But theory and reality are two different things.”
“The same problems exist across industry,” said Bates. “Industry buys something, and they just kind of want to forget about it. If they’re not updating these devices themselves, or they’re not thinking about updating them, they’re going to be exposed—even if their security was top-notch at the point of the link. That’s one problem.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NB-IoT Raises its Volume at MWC
China extends its big push into cellular IoT
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333023
The Narrowband-IoT version of LTE for the Internet of Things took a big leap forward this week at the Mobile World Congress with reports of new chips, software, and service offerings. NB-IoT is predicted to take the lion’s share of cellular IoT connections over the next few years, growing in parallel with LTE M1 and a host of non-cellular, long-range nets led by LoRa.
Sequans Communications announced its first chip optimized for NB-IoT, leapfrogging Qualcomm. Startup Riot Micro teamed up with a software developer to show a dual-mode (NB-IoT/LTE M1) network, and Qorvo rounded out its portfolio of low-band RF chips for all low-power wide-area networks.
LPWANs will be the world’s fastest-growing connectivity technology through 2025, supporting 4 billion IoT devices by that date, according to market watcher ABI Research. For its part, Qorvo said that it saw 20% growth in the market for low-band products in 2017.