IoT-based smart cities and communication networks
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When it comes to technology, what seemed like science fiction a few decades ago can now become commonplace and accepted by everyone. Could anyone have imagined in the early 2000s that entire economic sectors would function almost autonomously, under the watchful eye of surveillance sensors, cameras, and countless other connected devices collectively known as the Internet of Things (IoT)?
Once the preserve of only daring enthusiasts and dreamers, this high-tech reality is already here. Internet-enabled devices providing real-time data collection, remote monitoring, and automation have taken over in areas where human input was once crucial. The number of these objects is predicted to exceed 29 billion worldwide by 2030, double the 2020 statistic.
Of all the areas that IoT has revolutionized, critical infrastructure stands out as a particularly tangible intersection between the digital and physical worlds. Today, critical infrastructure improves operational efficiency, reduces costs, and increases service reliability for power grids, utilities, transportation systems, manufacturing companies, military installations, airports, and more.
This technology leap naturally comes with challenges. First, deploying a seamless IoT network over long distances can require significant engineering, construction, and investment to upgrade existing cabling infrastructure or build one from scratch. Second, operating such a network is a tightrope walk in terms of security, as critical assets lie at the network’s core.
Cybersecurity Weaknesses
In an IoT-driven infrastructure, the sheer number of interconnected devices creates a huge attack surface. These objects often have limited processing power and may not have robust security features, making them easy targets for attacks. Let’s take a closer look at the specific concerns that shape the unique threat model of such an ecosystem.
Unauthorized access: Many IoT devices have notoriously weak authentication protocols and ship with easy-to-guess default passwords that network administrators neglect to change, making them vulnerable to brute-force attacks and credential stuffing. Data breach: Without strong encryption, sensitive data transmitted between devices and control centers can be intercepted and processed improperly. Denial of service (DoS): IoT networks can be overwhelmed by a greater number of unauthorized queries than their servers can handle, resulting in significant downtime and operational issues, ultimately disrupting critical services. Software vulnerabilities: Outdated firmware and software on these devices can harbor unpatched security gaps, creating entry points for cyber attacks.
The overarching thing to understand is that the very nature of interconnectedness creates vulnerabilities: a criminal targeting a single device can access a broader network and cause widespread disruption.
Proper IoT Security
As cyber threats evolve, being overconfident in your defenses at the network perimeter can be a losing battle. Even with the highest level of preventative security measures in place, there’s always the chance that a motivated adversary will get in. It’s best to first prevent your adversaries from weaponizing intercepted data. You could call it Plan B, but in today’s nuisance cyberspace, it will ultimately be effective.
A good example of how this works is the logic utilized by Actelis Networks, a global provider of cyber-hardened, rapidly deployable network solutions for public utilities, transportation, military, communications, and federal, state and local government IoT applications. What caught my attention is that their security philosophy combines three layers of protection: end-to-end data encryption with the MACsec 256-bit encryption standard, data fragmentation, and scrambling.
This means that to do any damage, a bad actor would need to collect information from every node on the network, decrypt that information, put the pieces together in the right order, and then decrypt the resulting data with a unique key to make sense of it. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with cryptography knows that this mission is nearly impossible.
Actelis is the only company on the U.S. Department of Defense Information Network’s (DoDIN) Approved Products List (APL) thanks to its thoughtful security approach (called Triple Shield) and groundbreaking hybrid fiber network deployment principles. This track record, along with its NIST certification for FIPS 140-2 encryption standards, has predictably paved the way for the provider into new niche markets and projects.
The company received orders in early June to use its secure network technology to modernize three U.S. military bases. These moves come amid rising geopolitical tensions that are manifested as an increase in cyber attacks on critical infrastructure. The trend of increased investment in military cybersecurity reflects a broader federal effort to address such concerns. With DoDIN APL and NIST certifications, and the unique technologies in its toolkit, Actelis is well positioned to begin such efforts.
“At Actelis Networks, we know that robust security requires more than strong encryption. Our Triple Shield approach integrates end-to-end data encryption, data shredding and scrambling to create a defense-in-depth system so that even if one layer is compromised, data remains protected by an additional layer of security,” said Tuvia Barlev, chairman and CEO of Actelis. “The combination of these technologies makes it extremely difficult for bad actors to access and exploit sensitive information, preserving the integrity and confidentiality of our clients’ critical infrastructure,” he added.
What does the future hold for IoT-driven critical infrastructure?
While security is crucial for networks that serve as the foundation for critical infrastructure, enabling uninterrupted connectivity between IoT devices is also a key challenge, especially in geographically distributed environments that use a mix of fiber optics, coaxial cable, and traditional copper wiring.
The only saving grace is the ability to bond these disparate cable architectures together to achieve fiber-grade connectivity without having to build new, costly networks from scratch. One example of this strategy is Actelis’ hybrid fiber-optic technology, which leverages high-performance managed Ethernet access switches and extenders to make the most of existing network infrastructure and deliver gigabit speeds over virtually any wired media. Actelis’ hybrid fiber-optic network concept includes fiber sections (for locations easily accessible by fiber) and copper/coax cable that can be upgraded with Actelis’ technology to run fiber-grade communications. The company does both, providing management, security, and end-to-end integration of the entire such network, including the fiber-optic portion. This is important as they sell both fiber-optic and non-fiber-optic networks and represent a large portion of the market.
Barlev emphasizes: “The beauty of Actelis’ hybrid fiber technology is that it leverages existing network infrastructure to deliver high-speed connectivity. By integrating managed Ethernet access switches and extenders, we can achieve gigabit speeds over virtually any wired media. This approach not only reduces deployment costs and time, but also enables our clients to quickly and effectively modernize their networks without the need for extensive new builds.”
Connectivity is a major cost and time factor in any IoT modernization project such as this, and Actelis’ ability to remotely power sensors and cameras over copper/coax cables is also a major cost and time saver.
As IoT elements help modernize critical infrastructure across multiple industries, innovative network design principles come to the fore. A key challenge here is to avoid trade-offs between speed of deployment, ease of maintenance, and security. A safe world without serious societal impacts caused by technology appears to be a matter of striking that balance in the long term.