Hardware-Assisted Cybersecurity for IoT Devices

Internet of Things (IoT) has become an integral part of the modern era as it provides an ease of life with higher flexibility, easier control, and wide connectivity through numerous applications. However, security vulnerabilities in the IoT domain have given rise to potential threats and attacks that can compromise critical infrastructures and national security, cause physical and financial loss. Being common and easier targets due to low power and low processing capabilities, lightweight firewall, and availability for service, IoT devices require lightweight but enhanced security to thwart different cyber attacks. In this paper, we champion for hardware-assisted defense mechanisms against cyber attacks in IoT domain. We highlight that hardware-assisted techniques indeed offer an additional layer of protection with respect to traditional software-only cybersecurity. However, to offer a comprehensive security, many challenges including area and power footprint, as well as security strength, need to be addressed.