A Fog-Based Security Framework for Large-Scale Industrial Internet of Things Environments

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is a developing research area with potential global Internet connectivity, turning everyday objects into intelligent devices with more autonomous activities. IIoT services and applications are not only being used in smart homes and smart cities, but they have also become an essential element of the Industry 4.0 concept. The emergence of the IIoT helps traditional industries simplify production processes, reduce production costs, and improve industrial efficiency. However, the involvement of many heterogeneous devices, the use of third-party software, and the resource-constrained nature of the IoT devices bring new security risks to the production chain and expose vulnerabilities to the systems. The Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are significant, among others. This article analyzes the threats and attacks in the IIoT and discusses how DDoS attacks impact the production process and communication dysfunctions with IIoT services and applications. This article also proposes a reference security framework that enhances the advantages of fog computing to demonstrate countermeasures against DDoS attacks and possible strategies to mitigate such attacks at scale.