A Secure Update Mechanism for Internet of Things Devices

This chapter proposes a mechanism for securely updating IoT devices across networks and devices of any form factor or function. While not an exhaustive list, several of the problems are administering devices, proper authentication and authorization, securing communications, and firmware security. The chapter addresses updating IoT devices which is an essential part of IoT security. It defines an update as either updating both the operating system and application or just either the application or operating system running on an IoT device. The chapter addresses performing updates to IoT devices in a manner that is secure, and is also based on security standards that the IoT device will need to implement to carry out its functions. The goal of this secure update mechanism is to make recommendations that would cause minimal increases in processing and memory requirements so that it could be used by IoT devices running on constrained platforms and on constrained networks.