MEDA: A machine emulation detection algorithm

Security in the Internet of Things (IoT) is now considered a priority, and trust in machine-to-machine (M2M) communications is expected to play a key role. This paper presents a mechanism to detect an emerging threat in M2M systems whereby an attacker may create multiple fake embedded machines using virtualized or emulated systems, in order to compromise either a targeted IoT device, or the M2M network. A new trust method is presented that is based on a characterisation of the behaviours of real embedded machines, and operates independently of their architectures and operating systems, in order to detect virtual and emulated systems. A range of tests designed to characterise embedded and virtual devices are presented, and the results underline the efficiency of the proposed solution for detecting these systems easily and quickly.