Here is a list f IoT predictions for year 2018. With the number of connected devices set to top 11 billion – and that’s not including computers and phones – in 2018, Internet of Things will clearly continue to be a hot topic. Here is my prediction list:
1. Artifical Intelligence – it will be talked a lot
2. Blockchain – blockchain will be hyped to be a solution for many IoT problems, and it will turn out that it is not the best solution for most of problems it is hyped for – and maybe it will find few sensible uses for it in IoT. Blockchain can add immutability and integrity to some IoT transactions.
3. 4G mobile for IoT: NB-IoT and LTE-M are ready to be tested or used in many markets
4. 5G will be hyped a lot for IoT applications but it is nowhere near for any real big IoT use cases
6. Security issues will be talked a lot. IoT security is far from solved issue.
7. Privacy issues of IoT will be talked a lot when our homes and pockets are starting to be filled with ever listening digital assistants.
8. Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) will be massive
9. More CPU power will be added or used in the edge. Pushing processing power to the “edge” brings a number of benefits and opportunities.
10. Hardware based security: Hardware based security on microprocessors will be talked a lot after “Meltdown” and “Spectre” disaster
Links to more predictions:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2017/12/19/the-top-8-iot-trends-for-2018/#17a9943267f7
https://www.ibm.com/blogs/internet-of-things/top-5-iot-trends-in-2018/
https://www.inc.com/james-paine/3-internet-of-things-trends-to-watch-in-2018.html
https://www.i-scoop.eu/iot-2018-1/
https://dzone.com/articles/iot-trends-for-2018
1,393 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Motion control standards drive IIoT
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/motion-control-standards-drive-iiot/fa501cec423ee22135d890d07c966a86.html?OCVALIDATE=
Among the most important standards for industrial motion control are open networking standards for interoperable communications, but don’t overlook the importance of standard naming conventions to ease system integration and promote Industrial Internet of Things and similar initiatives.
Motion control standards, protocols to watch
The following organizations are those making the most impact when it comes to enabling IIoT advancements. The latest developments in open application programming interfaces (APIs) are worthy of attention, including the following standards and protocols that advance interoperability.
OPC UA and TSN
Any machine builder or OEM implementing a cloud-based solution will quickly run across the Open Platform Communications (OPC) Foundation and its Unified Architecture (UA) specification. The OPC UA was released in 2008 as scalable, open-platform technology that would enable better security and data modeling as the manufacturing industry began to explore more service-oriented architectures.
As the amount of data generation at the machine level has grown, the network architectures have had to grow and change. The capacity and performance of standard Ethernet, and industrial Ethernet, may not be keeping up. OPC UA Time Sensitive Networking (TSN), released in 2018, offers a vendor-agnostic, communication infrastructure for industrial automation based on an open standard.
OPC UA TSN enables “real-time” (or close to it) communication between disparate machines, controllers, the cloud, and other information technology (IT) solutions. The development of these specifications is creating what likely will be the closest anyone has come to a holistic communication infrastructure-an evolution that will influence the future design and development of motion control machines.
MQTT
While OPC UA TSN is a broad protocol that guides whole systems, message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) is a more lightweight protocol that allows two applications to talk to each other. MQTT is often implemented in one product. For example, MQTT allows a sensor or a drive to pull information from the product and send it to the cloud.
MQTT is considered a foundational IIoT messaging protocol and, in 2016, was approved and accepted globally as an ISO/IEC Standard (20922). As such, MQTT is often used as an element in the larger systems standards.
OMAC PackML
The Organization for Machine Automation and Control (OMAC) grew from within the industry and is a collection of end-users, OEMs, machine builders, systems integrators, and technology providers. Some of the original OMAC goals were to reduce delivery times, maximize available resources, and increase profitability across the industry while allowing each individual organization to maintain a competitive advantage.
Among core OMAC initiatives is PackML (aka ISA-TR88), a technical standard focused on industrial automation. Originally released in the United States in 2002, PackML simplifies the integration of disparate machines and standardizes hardware-to-software communication by making machine modes, states, and tag naming conventions consistent.
With the latest release of ISA-TR88.00.02, OMAC is helping to advance standardized communication protocols necessary for IIoT enablement by developing a companion specification to OPC UA.
Tomi Engdahl says:
$8.5B For Auto, IoT, Security Startups
First-half funding analysis shows continued robust investment in tech.
https://semiengineering.com/auto-iot-security-startups-raise-8-5b/
Investors infused $4.9 billion into automotive-related startups, nearly $2.5 billion into IoT startups and almost $1.2 billion into cybersecurity startups so far in 2018, according to Semiconductor Engineering’s estimates of private funding in the first six months of 2018.
Popular investments included companies using artificial intelligence, big data analytics, blockchain, machine learning, and sensors to develop advanced automotive electronics, cybersecurity, and the Internet of Things. Many investors are ready to provide money to startups in these markets, as witnessed by the nearly $8.5 billion in private funding invested during the first six months of this year.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity continues to be a major concern for IT and OT staffs, as the Internet of Things and Industrial IoT markets grow and more devices are connected to the Internet.
Cybersecurity investments dollars hit a record high in 2017, driven by anxiety over data breaches
Endpoint security is seeing heavy investment because the endpoint devices—phones, computers, point of sale devices—are often the most vulnerable link in any network. Also, a key to 5G use cases are endpoints interacting with edge computing.
In June, the cloud endpoint protection company CrowdStrike received $200 million in Series E funding, while Cylance, which focuses on AI-based endpoint cybersecurity, raised $120 million. In May, endpoint cybersecurity and systems management company Tanium reportedly took in $175 million, although the company has yet to confirm that figure.
Moving off the startup list are Carbon Black, Zscaler, Tenable, and Avast Software, which all became public companies in 2018.
Also going public this year was Avast Software
Internet of Things
Internet of Things startups are still highly active in raising private funding, with many touting their artificial intelligence capabilities in this year’s IoT devices and networks. Blockchain technology is also becoming a popular feature in IoT products and services.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ry Crist / CNET:
Amazon and Microsoft begin rolling out Alexa and Cortana integrations, with the ability to ask each assistant to “open” the other
Amazon and Microsoft bring Alexa and Cortana to each other’s devices
https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-and-microsoft-bring-alexa-and-cortana-to-echo-windows-10-devices-harman-kardon-invoke/
Live today, the long-awaited collaboration brings Alexa to Windows 10 devices and Cortana to Amazon’s Echo speakers. Just ask one assistant to “open” the other.
Alexa and Cortana: Tech’s new BFFs?
That’s the premise behind a cooperative effort from Amazon and Microsoft that lets Alexa users cue up Cortana on their Echo speakers. Meanwhile, you’ll be able to ask Cortana to let Alexa take the wheel on Windows 10 devices, and on the Cortana-powered Invoke smart speaker from Harman Kardon.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Addressing IoT Device Security Head-on
https://www.securityweek.com/addressing-iot-device-security-head
The Mirai botnet exposed very publicly how weaknesses in IoT devices can be used to create wide-scale Internet outages. Since then, other botnets based on Mirai have emerged, and now a new variant, Wicked, is being reported. Organizations are well-aware of the risks of insecure IoT devices. But analysis of IoT device patching trends reveals that even when vulnerabilities are known, steps are not being taken to proactively find and patch connected IoT devices.
In most cases, vulnerabilities are discovered after the device has been purchased and deployed in the network. For product developers, vulnerabilities uncovered after a product is released to market are costly to address and, depending on the type of device, can present a significant impact in terms of public safety and reputation. When paired with current threats such as ransomware, IoT devices present truly frightening, new opportunities for attackers.
Companies need to embed security in products from the very beginning of product development – before they are introduced to market and deployed in networks. However, because no system is 100 percent secure and threats continue to evolve, organizations must also continue to track and improve the security of these systems post-release.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Importance of Access Control for IoT Devices
https://www.securityweek.com/importance-access-control-iot-devices
With the Right Safeguards in Place, IoT Devices Don’t Have to be Your Network’s Weakest Link
Cybercriminals are actively increasing their focus on IoT devices, with the latest variant of the Hide ‘N Seek malware expanding its focus to include, for the first time, home automation devices. There are two reasons why these devices are so attractive to the criminal community. The first is that these devices are notoriously vulnerable to attack while at the same time being very difficult, if impossible to secure. The second is that most organizations don’t have any way to inventory and track even the traditional devices on their network, let alone hundreds or thousands of new IoT devices.
This double threat of vulnerability plus opportunity and necessity has put many security teams in a bind. IoT devices play an increasingly crucial role in the digital transformation of today’s businesses, enabling them to better compete in today’s expanding marketplace. Yet at the same time, they don’t have the resources necessary to expand their visibility across this new attack surface, especially at the speed of adoption that is taking place—and certainly not with the traditionally isolated security devices they have in place.
The Need for Access Control
The first principle of security is visibility. You can’t control what you can’t see. Issues from patching to monitoring to quarantining all require establishing visibility the moment a device touches the network. Since access control technologies are usually the first network element that a new device touches, they need to be able to automatically recognize IoT devices, determine if they have been compromised, and then provide controlled access based on factors such as type of device, intended destination, and if it is user-based, the role of the user.
As the volume of IoT devices connecting and disconnecting from the network continues to escalate, access control solutions need to be able to do this at digital speeds.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Overwhelmed by IoT Designs?
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1333586
Building IoT is no cakewalk. There is a lot to learn – everything from embedded software to deep knowledge in hardware engineering – and broader expertise in digital operations before you connect your coffee machines.
Fear fuels changes. More accurately, fear often fuels a sudden passion for change among normally conservative corporate executives. But this sort of anxiety alone has no power to alter a company’s business model or inspire fresh product designs.
The coming era of the “smart, connected world” apparently has many C-level executives running scared. Whether they are developing cosmetics, processing chemicals, or building coffee machines, more than 90% of CEOs and vice presidents interviewed by Accenture last year responded, “If we didn’t do anything [about the smart connected world], we would be out of business,” according to Craig McNeil, global managing director, internet of things, at Accenture.
Consider, for example, connected coffee machines, McNeil told us. “Once your coffee maker gets connected, everything changes.” You need a new industrial design, an embedded software that runs on top of it, apps for iOS or Android, and an IoT platform that connects the machine to the cloud. But wait — there’s more. As soon as your coffee maker is connected, you’re dealing with cybersecurity threats. Once your machine starts collecting data, including user habits, coffee bean preferences, and cups per day per drinker, you need smart analytics. Pretty soon, the cloud is raining on the financial and economic aspects of your business model.
In short, building IoT is no cakewalk. There is a lot to acquire — everything from embedded software to deep knowledge in hardware engineering — and broader expertise in digital operations before you connect your coffee machines and get them working flawlessly.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT Gets Security, BLE Benchmarks
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333594
New benchmarks for the power consumption of two key IoT functions — Bluetooth and security — are rolling out from the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium. EEMBC is making details of SecureMark available to members now, and the Bluetooth benchmark is about a month away.
SecureMark gauges the power consumption of a TLS 1.2 handshake, seen by members including Arm, Synopsys, and Analog Devices to be a representative security function. It measures joules consumed and microseconds taken to perform its 11 functions, which use elliptic curve cryptography and AES-128.
Scores are calculated into a single SecureMark number typically ranging from 1,000 to 100,000, with higher numbers representing a better score. The benchmark should help engineers to both tune their software stacks and select hardware accelerators that deliver optimal performance.
https://www.eembc.org/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Must Reads: Network Connectivity in the Age of IoT
https://www.techonline.com/electrical-engineers/education-training/tech-papers/4460967/Must-Reads-Network-Connectivity-in-the-Age-of-IoT
Tomi Engdahl says:
Satellite IoT Startups Launch
Small satellites fuel big ambitions
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333553
Satellite IoT is about to take off … literally. As many as a dozen startups aim to launch as many as 200 nanosatellites each over the next few years to link nodes in remote areas that cellular networks don’t reach.
Bill Ray, a Gartner analyst, predicts that the 1,500 commercial satellites in orbit today could grow by an order of magnitude in five years, many of them aimed at IoT. “A lot of companies are at an early funding stage,” said Ray. “Some raised $4–5 million with a proof-of-concept and are ready to launch their first couple of satellites.”
It’s a renaissance for a mature industry once focused mainly on large, expensive birds parked in high geosynchronous orbit. The new satellites weigh less than 15 pounds and cost less than a million dollars to build and launch into low orbits about 300 to 500 miles above Earth.
Both the new and a handful of existing satellite IoT services are competing to get their software designed into a wide array of sensors, end nodes, and gateways. It’s an opportunity for chip and system companies if they can pick partners who survive what’s expected to be a shakeout over the next few years.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IPv6-Only World On the Horizon
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1333560
With the release of a new profile, the U.S. government is taking steps toward an IPv6-ready world, and it’s time suppliers make products ready for IPv6-only networks.
Ten years after the initial release, the National Institute of Standards and Technology announced a new revision of the United States Government IPv6 profile. The USGv6 profile ensures government agencies the products they buy are IPv6-capable, and the profile gives them a way to communicate their IT needs to suppliers.
The UNH InterOperability Lab (UNH-IOL) is the USGv6 test lab for North America and over the past ten years we have seen hundreds of unique devices come through for testing. The first release of the profile pushed suppliers and manufacturers to make their products IPv6-capable. With the profile updates we are excited to see how it can help further IPv6-only deployments worldwide.
Tomi Engdahl says:
AI is Going Mainstream, Driven by Robots
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=240&doc_id=1333574
A smattering of recent news provides yet more evidence that AI is coming on fast.
You begin to realize the reality of a technology when it hits mainstream national radio. I’ve just listened to 30 minutes of debate among experts and the public on the pros and cons of artificial intelligence (AI) in society on a phone-in show on BBC radio in the U.K.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Week in Review: IoT, Security, Auto
Security issues; Marvell debuts; startup funding.
https://semiengineering.com/week-in-review-iot-security-auto-5/
Jens (Atom) Steube, a cybersecurity researcher and creator of the Hashcat password cracking tool, was probing for vulnerabilities in the new WPA3 security standard for Wi-Fi routers. WPA3 presents a robust defense against hacking, yet Steube discovered a security flaw in routers using WPA/WPA2 – one that leaves Wi-Fi passwords enabled with Pairwise Master Key Identifiers vulnerable to cracking. The clientless attack takes place on the Robust Security Network Element with the Extensible Authentication Protocol over LAN.
The acquisition of Duo Security for $2.35 billion by Cisco Systems points to a larger trend – how providers of cloud-based services and cybersecurity companies are trying to broaden their defenses for customers, this analysis notes.
ON World estimates that 500 million Zigbee chipsets have been sold for Internet of Things applications and forecasts sales of 802.15.4 mesh chipsets will hit 4.5 billion units by 2023. The Zigbee Alliance says its technologies will account for 3.8 billion, or nearly 85%, of those 4.5 billion chipsets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Rebirth of the Semiconductor Industry
http://blog.semi.org/technology-trends/the-rebirth-of-the-semiconductor-industry
“Software is eating the world … and AI is eating software.” Amir Husain, author of The Sentient Machine, at SEMICON West 2018
We’re living in a digital world where semiconductors have been taken for granted. But, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing everything – and bringing semiconductors back into the deserved spotlight. AI’s potential market of hundreds of zettabytes and trillions of dollars relies on new semiconductor architectures and compute platforms. Making these AI semiconductor engines will require a wildly innovative range of new materials, equipment, and design methodologies.
Moore’s Law carried us the past 50-plus years and as we’re now stepping into the dawn of AI’s potential, we can see that the coming Cognitive Era will drive its own exponential growth curve. This is great for the world – virtually every industry will be transformed, and people’s lives will get better – and it’s fantastic for our industry.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why The IIoT Is Not Secure
Don’t blame the technology. This is a people problem.
https://semiengineering.com/iiot-security-puzzle-and-fragmented-market-solving-it/
The Internet of Things is famously insecure, but not because the technology to build it or secure it is immature. Likewise, severely insufficient security on the Industrial IoT suffers from a lack of will. Neither tech buyers nor providers have yet invested the same effort expended in other areas of the tech world to create and adopt steps that will make everyone safer, according to chipmakers and analysts.
“My evaluation of security in the IIoT? Zero,” said Richard Soley, executive director of the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC), which issues IIoT guidelines, and chairman and CEO of the Object Management Group. “Nearly all implementations of the IIoT I’ve seen assume you’re going to build a wall around them and they won’t need extra security because the perimeter will keep any threats away. That’s nonsense. On the consumer Internet, 80% of breaches involve something inside the perimeter that breaks security, whether it’s malware, or a phishing call, or an insider you shouldn’t have trusted.”
This is especially unnerving because of how much is connected to the IIoT. No longer just about the IoT and connectivity to the factory floor, the IIoT has many use cases, from utilities and transportation to in-building systems, like HVAC and lighting.
“You hear a lot of horror stories,”
Facing the OT/IT divide
Many technical issues contribute to the fractured, uncoordinated nature of security in the IIoT market, but the focus and security habits of the end users responsible for the projects comes up in almost every discussion about it. Operational security staff just don’t seem to understand or believe in security risks in the same way IT staff and chipmakers do, according to Steve Hanna, senior principal in the U.S. for Germany-based Infineon Technologies.
The three heaviest contributors to IIoT spending in 2018, according to IDC, will be manufacturing ($189 billion), transportation ($85 billion), and utilities ($73 billion).
Traditional IT people deal with end users, wrestle with malware and infosec issues and go back to deal with more users, who are a consistent source of access for attackers. Phishing emails—lying to people via electronic text with no digital wizardry involved—accounted for 93% of social attacks and were involved in 98% of all incidents (successful or not) and 88% of financial pretexting attacks, according to the cybersecurity report of record Verizon’s “2017 Data Breach Investigations Report”.
Guidelines and standards—pick one and stick to it
There is plenty of information out there, and plenty of guidelines, from the IIC, NIST, IEC, ISO, Trusted Security Group, Cisco, IBM, the Dell-focused EdgeX Foundry, European Industrie 4.0, the Object Management Group, and IEEE.
“It’s not that we don’t have standards or guidelines, we have too many of both,” Hanna said. “What we don’t have is a way to consolidate on the best ones and get participation from security companies, for example, to help create the kind of integrated standards and support fabric that’s common in other areas.”
The problem with hardware
The devices themselves are also a problem. Unlike in the x86 world, every IIoT device is different.
Most are built to one degree or another on Arm Cortex microcontrollers or IP but are so heavily customized to accomplish the specific task required for the one project they were designed for that there is little resemblance or chance for interoperability among chipsets from different vendors.
Nearly all Arm microcontroller IP includes some degree of security – or at least the wiring that would make secure boot, encryption, authentication or fully functional PKI certificate management possible, according to Rob Coombs, director of business development for Arm’s IoT Device IP business.
To even get started, a security service needs three things:
The ability to access and activate security embedded by the silicon vendor;
An API or other method to allow a PaaS or other cloud service to link to and control the device;
A database with data outlining how to handle the other two steps—covering as wide a swath as possible of the chaotic horde of devices and chipsets making up the IoT.
The cloud service—or whatever application is providing the control—has to be able to communicate with the devices it controls. It also must keep them from communicating with unauthorized devices to reduce the chance of contracting Mirai or any other strain of malware, and build up a database of common behaviors to use as a template and quash any unusual activity.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hardware Security Threat Rising
https://semiengineering.com/hardware-security-risks-grow/
Rambus’ CTO zeroes in on why hardware is now a target and what’s driving this shift.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Managing IoT: A problem and solution for data center and IT managers
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-26/issue-7/features/technology/managing-iot-a-problem-and-solution-for-data-center-and-it-managers.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-08-07&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2196737
The Internet of Things is one of several challenges facing network administrators, but it’s also one of the solutions to those challenges.
You’ve probably seen some of the projections regarding the growth in the Internet of Things (IoT) in the coming years. Cisco projects there will be 23 billion devices connected to Internet Protocol (IP) networks by 2021. Gartner says 20.8 billion by 2020, while IDC puts the 2020 number at 28.1 billion.
While there’s some discrepancy in the numbers, there’s little debate that IoT is growing fast. Whether it is enabling smart homes, smart factories, or smart cities, this growth is being driven by IoT’s potential to improve efficiency, productivity and availability.
But IoT applications also can generate huge volumes of data that must be transmitted, processed and stored, creating data management challenges information technology (IT) professionals must prepare to address. One of the ways they can address them is by applying IoT technology to improve the management of data centers and edge sites.
IoT in the data center
According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index global IP traffic will grow from 1.2 zettabytes in 2016 to 3.3 zettabytes by 2021. While that represents a tripling of data in just five years, not all of that data will originate or end up in a traditional data center. A large percentage of IoT data, for example, will be generated, processed and stored at the network edge. Only a fraction will need to be transmitted to a central data center for archiving and deep learning.
Yet, the data center is also an extremely complex and diverse environment that has left much of that operating data stranded within devices due to the variety of protocols in use and the lack of a system-level control layer.
Using an IoT strategy provides a framework for capturing and using this data to enhance reliability and efficiency as well as enable automation. For example, system-level controls, such as those available for thermal management, enable machine-to-machine communication and coordination across units to optimize performance across the facility. They also support continuous monitoring to enhance availability.
Management gateways designed specifically for the data center are now available to enable true, real-time, integrated monitoring, access and control across IT and facilities systems. These flexible gateways aggregate and normalize the incoming data and provide a local control point necessary for the latency requirements of some of the edge archetypes. The gateways consolidate data from multiple devices using different protocols to support centralized data center management.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT on the edge
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-26/issue-7/features/technology/managing-iot-a-problem-and-solution-for-data-center-and-it-managers.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-08-07&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2196737
This has led to the recognition of four edge archetypes that can guide decisions regarding edge infrastructure, particularly at the local level. These four archetypes are described here.
Data intensive—encompasses uses cases where the amount of data is so large that layers of storage and computing are required between the endpoint and the cloud to reduce bandwidth costs or latency.
Human-latency sensitive—includes applications where latency negatively impacts the experience of humans using a technology or service.
Machine-to-machine latency sensitive—similar to the human-latency sensitive archetype except the tolerance for latency in machines is even less than it is for humans because of the speed at which machines process data.
Life critical—applications that impact human health or safety and so have very low latency and very high availability requirements.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Most Wanted Malware: Attacks Targeting IoT and Networking doubled since May 2018
July’s Most Wanted Malware: Attacks Targeting IoT and Networking doubled since May 2018
https://blog.checkpoint.com/2018/08/15/julys-most-wanted-malware-attacks-targeting-iot-and-networking-doubled-since-may-2018/
Three IoT vulnerabilities entered July’s top ten most exploited vulnerabilities list, as threat actors have doubled their attacks on these Mirai and Reaper-related vulnerabilities since May 2018.
During July 2018, three IoT vulnerabilities entered the Top 10 most exploited list: MVPower DVR router Remote Code Execution at #5; D_Link DSL-2750B router Remote Command Execution at #7; and Dasan GPON router Authentication Bypass at #10. Together, 45% of all organizations across the world were impacted by attacks targeting these vulnerabilities, compared with 35% in June 2018 and 21% in May. These vulnerabilities all enable attackers to execute malicious code and gain remote control of the target devices.
Known vulnerabilities offer cyber-criminals an easy and relatively frictionless entry point into corporate networks, enabling them to propagate a wide range of attacks. IoT vulnerabilities, in particular, are often ‘the path of least resistance’, as once one device is compromised, it can be straightforward to infiltrate further connected devices. As such, organizations must apply patches as soon as they’re available in order to secure their networks from known vulnerabilities.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Architectural considerations for enabling industrial IoT devices
https://www.embedded.com/electronics-blogs/say-what-/4460829/2/Architectural-considerations-for-enabling-industrial-IoT-devices?mid=6818270&PC=L&c=2018_08_16_esd_newsletter_update_august_2
Cloud Platform and SDK-provided Functions for Device Management
Cloud vendors provide a variety of infrastructure and tools to create and manage connected IIoT devices. One of the primary functions cloud vendors offer is the means to securely onboard a device and the communication infrastructure needed to monitor, manage, and update that device. However, specific capabilities vary from one provider to the next.
Some of the core functions you can expect from established cloud vendors include:
Device Identity management and provisioning
Communications
Data model
Other Device Software Functions Needed for IIoT Device Management: OS/System Services
Some of the key functions OS/System services enable include:
Software updates services
System diagnostics, health monitoring, and profiling services
Secure system services
The Integration of a Cloud SDK with OS/System Services
To fulfil the complete potential of the Industrial IoT, devices must be able to offer the full set of runtime functionality already discussed. Figure 2 is an example of a commercial software framework that addresses these demands and requirements. This particular IIoT framework integrates the functions and capabilities of a vendor-provided cloud SDK with the OS/system services needed for comprehensive device management.
The Mentor® Embedded IoT Framework (MEIF) is a new product from Mentor, now a Siemens business. MEIF supports multiple cloud platforms including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and soon Siemens MindSphere and others. The MEIF architecture also supports Eclipse IoT-based back-end applications on the cloud.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT-based smart and secure home automation
http://www.embedded-computing.com/articles/iot-based-smart-and-secure-home-automation?mid=6818270&PC=L&c=2018_08_16_esd_newsletter_update_august_2
A variety of smart home automation solutions are being developed nowadays, but most of them lack the potential for seamless integration into an already functioning home environment aa well as security. To bridge the gap between consumer and expert while allowing for integration into any existing home environment without physical alteration to the building, a modular and flexible smart home automation solution with seamless integration potential is required.
Smart home automation systems (SHAS) are the residential extension of building automation. It is automation of the complete home or household and may include control and automation of lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), appliances, and security, and multiple other systems found in the home environment. Interest in the field of smart home automation has increased greatly in recent years due to advances in Machine to Machine (M2M) communications networks and a much higher affordability and simplicity through the emergence of smartphones and tablets.
Existing smart home automation systems are uniquely designed to suit specific consumers home environments and requirements. These systems are complex in design, not flexible enough to meet the custom requirements, and are often embedded into the physical structures of the home.
Home automation architecture and application areas
Mentor Embedded Runtime for IoT is the best fit for the general home automation architecture. The proposed architecture uses only two types of modules: Supervisor Engine (SE) and Control Engine (CE), which are interconnected by a communications network supported by MEL.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The 5 Biggest Challenges Facing Embedded Software Developers in IoT
https://www.designnews.com/content/5-biggest-challenges-facing-embedded-software-developers-iot/144800967159182?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=5232&elq_cid=876648
The traditional, disconnected developer is finding that there are several new challenges that need to be addressed in order to be successful.
Challenge #1 – Connectivity
Challenge #2 – Over the Air-Updates
Challenge #3 – Security
Challenge #4 – Debugging
Challenge #5 – The Rate of Change
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to Solve the Coexistence Conundrum
https://www.mwrf.com/systems/how-solve-coexistence-conundrum?NL=MWRF-001&Issue=MWRF-001_20180816_MWRF-001_222&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=19287&utm_medium=email&elq2=18c1da332f7a4ac38ae76ef3c1eae996
This white paper delves into coexistence testing, presenting techniques to overcome challenges along with a test strategy.
As Internet of Things (IoT) devices utilize different protocols on crowded bands, one major issue that emerges is communication failure attributed to coexistence. Coexistence can be defined as the capability of wireless equipment to operate when other equipment using dissimilar operating protocols is present.
In the white paper, “Overcoming Interference is Critical to Success in a Wireless IoT World,” Keysight Technologies dives into the topic of coexistence.
The white paper states that concerns surrounding coexistence are driven by three key factors. First is the increased use of wireless technology for critical equipment connectivity. The second factor is the intensive use of unlicensed or shared spectrum. Finally, there’s the higher deployment rates of sensitive equipment like intravenous infusion pumps, pacemakers, and defibrillators. These factors directly impact the reliability of medical-device communications.
Three techniques are commonly used to improve coexistence of devices and networks. One technique is physical separation. By placing two networks in different locations, each network encounters a weaker signal from the other. However, physical separation is not always practical
The second technique involves frequency separation. Essentially, interference between two networks is reduced when one network operates on a different frequency than the other—whether they are located close to one another or not. However, frequency separation is not always effective in the case of the 2.4-GHz ISM band, as Bluetooth, Zigbee, and IEEE 802.11 channels all make use of this band.
The third technique is time separation, whereby transmissions are sent and received at different times to avoid collisions.
Overcoming Interference is Critical to Success in a Wireless IoT World
https://literature.cdn.keysight.com/litweb/pdf/5992-3095EN.pdf?id=2989439
Tomi Engdahl says:
Grabb-It wants to turn your car’s window into a trippy video billboard
https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/15/grabb-it-wants-to-turn-your-cars-window-into-a-trippy-video-billboard/?utm_source=tcfbpage&sr_share=facebook
It reminds me of something out of Blade Runner.
Maybe it’s because it looks a bit futuristic — a bit unreal.
Grabb-It turns a car’s side rear window into a full-color display, playing location-aware ads to anyone who might be standing curbside. They’re currently aiming to work with rideshare/delivery drivers, enabling them to make a bit of extra coin while doing the driving they’re already doing.
As the driver crosses town, the ads can automatically switch to focus on businesses nearby.
Grabb-It applies a material to the inside of a car’s right rear window to act as a projection surface. The material is thin enough that the window can still be opened
It’s meant to only run when the driver is between rides. Once a passenger hops in the car, the projector is shut off — because, well, no one wants a projector blasting light in their face on the way to their next meeting.
https://grabb.io
Tomi Engdahl says:
3 projects successfully using mesh network technology
https://opensource.com/article/17/3/mesh-networks-future?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.alfame.com/hakkerointiblogi/etana-mutta-toimistolla-esittelyssa-videoavusteinen-etahakkerin-sosialisaatio-aparaatti
Tomi Engdahl says:
A programmer’s cleaning guide for messy sensor data
https://opensource.com/article/17/9/messy-sensor-data?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY
If you have never used Pandas before and know the basics of Python, this tutorial is for you
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cheap, Flexible, Battery-Free Tags to Control Your IoT Devices
https://blog.hackster.io/cheap-flexible-battery-free-tags-to-control-your-iot-devices-9857bdd428b4
The Internet of Things is a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, outfitting your home with IoT devices can make a lot of tasks more convenient. But, on the other hand, IoT devices get expensive quickly when every device and control needs a microcontroller and WiFi capability. These new smart tags could, potentially, reduce that cost dramatically by providing control with simple, incredibly inexpensive, printable circuits
Tomi Engdahl says:
A university is outfitting living spaces with thousands of Echo Dots
https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/19/a-university-is-outfitting-living-spaces-with-thousands-of-echo-dots/?utm_source=tcfbpage&sr_share=facebook
Soon, Saint Louis University students won’t be able to avoid Amazon’s near ubiquitous smart speakers. The university announced this week a plan to outfit living spaces with 2,300 Echo Dots. The devices are set to be deployed by the time classes start, later this month.
SLU has worked with Alexa for Business to create 100 custom questions, including, “What time does the library close tonight?” and “Where is the registrar’s office?”
Then, of course, there are the privacy concerns of having little cloud connected recording devices populating the school’s living spaces.
Because of our use of the Amazon Alexa for Business (A4B) platform, your Echo Dot is managed by a central system dedicated to SLU. This system is not tied to individual accounts and does not maintain any personal information for any of our users, so all use currently is anonymous. Additionally, neither Alexa nor the Alexa for Business management system maintains recordings of any questions that are asked.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT security can be measured
http://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8322-iot-tietoturvaa-voidaan-nyt-mitata
The security of IoT devices is known to be reticulated. Often the drivers and the IoT based devices are not protected at all. Now, the problem comes in handy because the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium has released a new test specifically for measuring IoT security.
EEMBC’s new test is called SecureMark. Its first version was recently distributed to EEMBC members.
What is the protection of the driver then measured? SecureMark models the cryptographic operations required by the TLS layer (Transport Layer Securoty) required by the secure Internet interface.
The TLS protocol provides the privacy and integrity of the messages received and sent by the controller. The protocol can be used to authenticate the sender and recipient
SecureMark measures the physical device – either a development card or an IoT – performance and energy consumption in specific cryptographic operations
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Internet of Things is Making Smart Cities Happen
https://iconsofinfrastructure.com/the-internet-of-things-is-making-smart-cities-happen/?code=Mouser08072018-01&elqTrackId=73af5612b66741dab4633dcdae28bfdc&elq=ecbd9118eaa04968ae3c6def4f624125&elqaid=18715&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=16358
IoT technologies like Bluetooth (the most popular choice) are finding their way into smart city projects, from traffic monitoring and control to Internet-enabled trash cans.
Large towns, municipalities and other urban areas are becoming smart cities by taking advantage of the benefits of the Internet of Things. IoT technology offers the advantages of communications, convenience, efficiency and energy savings that can enhance any city. But it requires adding to the infrastructure. IoT has already been deployed in the infrastructure of some progressive cities but there is much more possible. Smart cities help citizens as well as the cities in multiple ways. Some cities are investing for the benefits rather than any expected return on investment (ROI).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Open MQTT Servers Raise Physical Threats in Smart Homes
https://threatpost.com/open-mqtt-servers-raise-physical-threats-in-smart-homes/136586/
Misconfigured DIY smart-home hubs for home automation could allow attackers to track owners’ movements, see if smart doors and windows are opened or closed, and even open garage doors.
Tens of thousands of consumer-grade Internet of Things (IoT) servers have been found wide-open on the internet, allowing cybercriminals to potentially compromise homeowners’ physical security. Bad actors can gain complete access to smart-home footprints to track owners’ movements, see if smart doors and windows are opened or closed, and even open garage doors.
The servers in question are 49,000 Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) servers, which are publicly visible due to misconfigured MQTT protocol, according to research released Thursday from Avast. This includes more than 32,000 servers with no password protection.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Breaking Down the Door to Emergency Services through Cellular IoT Gateways
https://www.f5.com/labs/articles/threat-intelligence/breaking-down-the-door-to-emergency-services-through-cellular-io
Hollywood has provided a spectacular number of films depicting hackers involved in crime rings such as Lyle, the character portrayed by Seth Green in the Italian Job. At the end of the film, Lyle leverages his skills and talents to look after the health and welfare of his associates by manipulating traffic signals to control the flow of traffic, which subsequently assists in their successful heist.
This scene is no longer fantasy. For instance, the traffic lights that are referenced do exist. They are often connected back to a smart city’s infrastructure through the use of VPN tunnels and other private means of communication over devices like cellular gateways. These gateways are similar to the modems and routers used by consumers at home but with an additional feature, cellular connectivity, often in the form of 4G/LTE, if available. Additionally, these devices are capable of providing a variety of connection options, including wireless connectivity over 802.11x, Ethernet, USB, serial; analog and digital I/O; and cellular bands ranging from 2G through 4G LTE. If said devices are not configured properly, an attacker may be able to access them and do just as Lyle did in the Italian Job.
It feels like a time warp, but as with all cyber threats, they do not appear instantly. They evolve slowly in the background over long periods of time until the problem seems to reach a critical mass.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/08/17/partiolaiset-ottivat-anturit-ja-iot-tekniikan-kayttoon/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Add Wireless Connectivity to Next-Gen Power Tools while Cutting Cost, Size
https://www.electronicdesign.com/power/add-wireless-connectivity-next-gen-power-tools-while-cutting-cost-size?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20180822_ED-003_789&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=19411&utm_medium=email&elq2=6d46f91a84cf4744afdd2ac8c79ca2d9
First came the move to cut the cord by moving to battery-powered devices. The need to conserve battery power led to a switch from brushed to more-efficient brushless DC (BLDC) motors with their more complex control schemes, sensors, and power drivers.
A current-generation handheld tool with a BLDC drive is a packaging marvel
But the latest power tools are raising the bar yet again. They’re adding wireless connectivity as an available feature, beginning with the professional market and migrating to home and hobby products.
Why Wireless?
For the construction professional, wireless connectivity offers features such as authentication, tracking, intelligent inventory management, fault reporting, and information about battery condition or total operating time. If the tool goes out of range and leaves the job site, the battery can shut down.
The home user will benefit from features such as a “lending button” to allow for the sharing of battery-powered equipment. When a neighbor borrows a cordless lawnmower, say, the owner can select an amount of time for it to be lent out. When time expires, the battery shuts down and the owner receives an alert.
The most common method for adding wireless connectivity is via a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) module, either inside the existing case or attached externally as a separate unit.
The traditional block diagram of a connected power tool includes two microcontrollers (MCUs): one for BLDC motor control, and the other for Bluetooth wireless connectivity.
There are good reasons for this segmentation of functions. The wireless and BLDC blocks require very different feature sets.
So far, so good. However, each successive design must not only achieve higher performance, but cost less and occupy less space. What steps can the designer take to meet these goals?
Combine MCU Functions to Shrink Cost and Size
Sponsored by Texas Instruments: As power tools add capabilities like Bluetooth connectivity, it’s crucial to integrate the required features into fewer devices. As such, one reference design demonstrates a single-MCU BLE solution.
Tomi Engdahl says:
AR and VR: A safe landing on the plant floor
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/ar-and-vr-a-safe-landing-on-the-plant-floor/2e607039385a9c932c5fc288dc5849ec.html?OCVALIDATE=
Revolutionize factory visibility with augmented and virtual reality. Seven tips for leveraging functionalities are highlighted.
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) empowers manufacturers to gain insights into their equipment health and product models. This leads to operation and process efficiencies, which in turn enhances product quality and reduces time to market.
These technologies leverage sensors, cameras, smart devices and wearables, and other Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) tools. Training becomes easier, as workers are given a visual, hands-on experience in front of the machines, and this leads to improved assembly, and maintenance.
In aircraft assembly, for example, the AR device displays an image of the components, overlaid with renderings of specifications, bolts, cables, parts, and part numbers, facilitating engineers to accurately assemble complex heavy machinery by simply following the instructions. In an aircraft manufacturing training facility, this technology enabled engineers to increase productivity by 30%.
VR-simulated training programs help new employees learn complex processes while immersing themselves in an animated 3-D replica of the actual facility. The method has yielded higher retention rates compared to lecture-style or reading-based methods, particularly for the next generations of w orkers more used to the VR environment. In a petroleum facility, training helicopter pilots to safely land on offshore oil platforms using VR simulation helped the company save $2 million in logistics. Its employees also retained 75% of the information disseminated during the training program.
AR and VR can disrupt manufacturing training methods, and with manufacturing plants projected to lose 2.7 million skilled workers due to retirement in the next decade, they need to leverage AR and VR to keep their factories running.
Tomi Engdahl says:
TSN: Evolution, next steps for industrial systems
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/tsn-evolution-next-steps-for-industrial-systems/55c28cf0c40867f7d5e6852be57cbfa4.html?OCVALIDATE=
Technology Update: IEEE Time Sensitive Networking evolves standard Ethernet to enable deterministic networking that supports coexistence of critical and non-critical forms of traffic. Experts provide TSN updates and explanations.
The latest set of IEEE 802.1 standards, Time Sensitive Networking (TSN), is an evolution of standard Ethernet to enable deterministic networking that supports critical and non-critical forms of traffic in coexistence. Industrial network system designers and engineers, as well as end-users, benefit from the use of TSN in their systems by accessing a network that promises reduced latency, shared synchronized time, and convergence of control traffic and standard Ethernet traffic. The technology continuously has been advancing alongside the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) with new capabilities, use cases, and tools that are contributing to industrial applications.
IIoT demand has been growing steadily and will continue to do so more rapidly due to advancement and adoption of networking technologies. According to a report by Zion Research, the IIoT market will grow due to the benefits of manufacturing cost reduction and sensor data contribution to real-time supply chain information. This growth is creating increased amounts of data that will be harvested through distributed networks and will require new standards for managing and transferring critical information. These factors create opportunities for IIoT, Industrie 4.0 and evolving technologies to support this necessary business shift.
Avnu Alliance, a consortium responsible for creating conformance tools for TSN device testing and fostering the manufacturer ecosystem of devices for industrial networked systems, is working to drive interoperability for IIoT devices. In 2017 Avnu Alliance’s industrial segment worked with top companies to advance tools for TSN via participation in TSN testbeds, plugfests, and interoperability workshops for industrial applications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IIoT: Connecting industrial intelligence
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/iiot-connecting-industrial-intelligence/118641f7657ce25880531af689af3d51.html?OCVALIDATE=
Industrial internet can help operations and production be intelligent, high-efficiency, and flexible. Industrial network cybersecurity can help protect the industrial control system (ICS). Tools are available to enhance interoperability of real-time data transmission.
Industrial internet is divided into three systems.
1. The network system is the foundation.
2. The platform system is the core.
3. The safety system is the guarantee.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Integrative Control: Applying IIoT Technology to Sensor Systems
https://www.sealevel.com/case-studies/integrative-control-applying-iiot-technology-to-sensor-systems/
Key Application Requirements
Remote access
Data recording and collection
User alerts
Automated relay commands
The Sealevel Solution
The Sealevel SeaConnect 370 met the demands of this complex situation. For the control company’s stock device, the 370 integrates with pre-existing sensor systems via its dry contact inputs. The SeaConnect 370 works in conjunction with the Sealevel SeaCloud software as a service (SaaS). Liquid level detectors collect data, which the 370 transmits to the cloud. Pump control systems relay closure commands via the SeaConnect configuration webpage. A master 370 transmits that group data to the cloud for remote access via cellular service. If reliability data shows errors or levels rise above accepted thresholds, the SeaConnect triggers a text message alert to the system manager.
For their client’s specific commercial landscaping IIoT request, they supplied a private-labeled version of SeaCloud along with their integrated SeaConnect 370 control system. Using the duration relay option, the sprinkler system was automated to turn on at an exact time in the morning for the required length of time.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Augmented Public Safety: AR Technology Gives Emergency Services Second Set of Eyes
https://www.sealevel.com/2018/07/27/augmented-public-safety-ar-technology-gives-emergency-services-second-set-of-eyes/
Public safety departments are catching up with futuristic, augmented reality technology. Some people aren’t happy about it: for example, Microsoft is raising the alarm about facial recognition, wanting to regulate law enforcement use of the tech. However, there are cases where emergency services clearly serve their community better with augmented reality (AR). From training to response, here are three savvy AR public safety applications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart Money Matters: Smart City Monetization of Transportation Technology
https://www.sealevel.com/2018/08/21/smart-money-matters-smart-city-monetization-of-transportation-technology/
Smart cities are the new cities. Like their predecessors, these municipalities need money to run their services. With changing demographics and population habits, traditional revenue systems are drying up. For example, as more individuals choose Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) for personal transportation, fee-heavy byproducts from personal vehicle ownership, such as toll roads, are less lucrative. Instead, these cities must learn to monetize new technology, especially transportation technology, to profit from their services.
What is MaaS?
Mobility-as-a-Service, also called Transportation-as-a-Service, is the genre of private products that deliver mobility solutions as a subscription or fee-based service. Famous examples of these include Lyft ridesharing and DoorDash food delivery. Tools such as bikesharing and mass transit also fall into this category. While MaaS has existed since the era of stagecoaches, new companies applying this approach grew ubiquitous due to the ease of convenience, relative sustainability benefits and affordability. They primarily serve metropolitan areas but are making a name for themselves in smaller cities and even college towns: wherever highly mobile populations exist.
Public Opportunities for Monetization
As smart cities develop, their leaders need funds to pay for intelligent upgrades and to subsidize less profitable services, such as healthcare and social programs. However Lyft and other MaaS products tend to precede smart city infrastructure because they are easier to implement. MaaS services dry up revenue streams, such as toll roads, car taxes and other vehicle-affiliated taxes.
Luckily for smart city leaders, they do have one thing MaaS companies and other new tech companies need: data. By collecting the data to which they have ample access and then selling it, government bodies of these high-tech municipalities can fund their plans. However, monetizing a system also happens via hefty savings. Leaders can use technology to diminish the costs of services, lessening the need for subsidies. Here are three methods cities can use to stay in the black.
Creating and Updating Modern Infrastructure
The phrase “if you build it, they will come” is especially true for smart cities. As cities grow in intelligent capability, and AI tools such as machine learning and predictive analytics are applied to data stores, people will look for markets where they can sell their products. While it is always risky to implement new structures to preempt business, some infrastructure systems have low risk costs associated with their implementation. Consider the already available parking in a city. Imagine creating a cloud-based data log with detailed costs overlaying the city’s sectors and incidences of parking tickets populating the data. This information could then be sold to app-based parking tools or tow companies trying to sell their plans as MaaS to business owners.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Latch raises $70M for its apartment smart lock system
https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/22/latch-brookfield-series-b/?utm_source=tcfbpage&sr_share=facebook
Latch’s smart lock system is designed for apartment buildings rather than single family homes, allowing you to open doors with a smartphone, keycard or door code. It also allows residents to create temporary access codes for guests and service providers.
Speaking of service providers, Latch announced a pilot partnership with UPS earlier this summer that will allow UPS drivers to receive unique credentials for entering buildings to make deliveries.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How we went from zero to silver in the AWS re:Invent Non-profit Hackathon 2017
https://www.nitor.com/fi/uutiset-ja-blogi/how-we-went-zero-silver-aws-reinvent-non-profit-hackathon-2017
We ended up doing a few things around the Federation of Internet Alerts. Our ideas revolved around new ways of delivering the alerts. We looked into delivering alerts as push messages to an Alexa, or as voice messages read out by AWS Polly into a public announcement system.
Alexa push messages were not publicly released at the time, and we had some problems with our hardware – we had Raspberry PIs and had problems with the sound as we were trying to run Resin containers. But I was happy with how the team worked on various parts of what we were trying to do: constantly communicating and working through issues while keeping everyone busy.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Foundries.io promises standardized open source IoT device security
https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/21/foundries-io-promises-standardized-open-source-iot-device-security/?utm_source=tcfbpage&sr_share=facebook
IoT devices currently lack a standard way of applying security. It leaves consumers, whether business or individuals, left to wonder if their devices are secure and up-to-date. Foundries.io, a company that launched today, wants to change that by offering a standard way to secure devices and deliver updates over the air.
“Our mission is solving the problem of IoT and embedded space where there is no standardized core platform like Android for phones,” Foundries.io CEO George Grey explained.
providing a way to deliver updates over the air in an automated manner on any device from tiny sensors to smart thermostats to autonomous cars.
He says this approach will allow manufacturers to apply security patches in a similar way that Apple applies regular updates to iOS. “Manufacturers can continuously make sure their devices can be updated with the latest software to fix security flaws or Zero Day flaws,” he said.
The company offers two solutions, depending on the size and complexity of your device. The Zephyr RTOS microPlatform is designed for smaller, less complex devices. For those that are more complex, Foundries offers a version of Linux called the Linux OE microPlatform.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT Gets Security, BLE Benchmarks
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333594
New benchmarks for the power consumption of two key IoT functions — Bluetooth and security — are rolling out from the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium. EEMBC is making details of SecureMark available to members now, and the Bluetooth benchmark is about a month away.
SecureMark gauges the power consumption of a TLS 1.2 handshake, seen by members including Arm, Synopsys, and Analog Devices to be a representative security function. It measures joules consumed and microseconds taken to perform its 11 functions, which use elliptic curve cryptography and AES-128.
Scores are calculated into a single SecureMark number typically ranging from 1,000 to 100,000, with higher numbers representing a better score. The benchmark should help engineers to both tune their software stacks and select hardware accelerators that deliver optimal performance.
Documentation of the test is available to EEMBC members now. Chip companies involved in the effort are expected to report results on the group’s website within six months.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Benchmarks address power consumption for IoT security and Bluetooth
https://www.embedded.com/electronics-news/4461004/Benchmarks-address-power-consumption-for-IoT-security-and-Bluetooth
New benchmarks for the power consumption of two key IoT functions — Bluetooth and security — are rolling out from the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium. EEMBC is making details of SecureMark available to members now, and the Bluetooth benchmark is about a month away.
SecureMark gauges the power consumption of a TLS 1.2 handshake, seen by members including Arm, Synopsys, and Analog Devices to be a representative security function. It measures joules consumed and microseconds taken to perform its 11 functions, which use elliptic curve cryptography and AES-128.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Transfer learning for the IoT
https://www.embedded.com/electronics-blogs/say-what-/4460864/Transfer-learning-for-the-IoT-
If you know anything about artificial intelligence and the internet of things, you most likely can’t help but feel a great deal of excitement at the idea of combining the extraordinary promises that these two fields have to offer. With the unparalleled advances in the field of computer hardware, some of the advanced theoretical knowledge that has been around for decades can be finally leveraged and put to use in real-life, practical applications. And with an ever-growing IoT market, getting high quality data has never been so easy, enabling the development of ever better, more performant models, and in particular of deep learning models.
Wait, Before we Start: What is Deep Learning, Exactly?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Startup Drives Open Source to IoT
Ex-Linaro execs ride Zephyr RTOS and Linux
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333604
A startup formed by members of Linaro wants to be the Red Hat of the Internet of Things, delivering configurations of Linux and the Zephyr RTOS for end nodes, gateways and cars. Foundries.io aims to provide processor-agnostic code with regular updates at a time when IoT developers have a wide variety of increasingly vendor-specific choices.
“Today every IoT product is effectively a custom design that has to be tested and maintained, and we believe that causes huge fragmentation. Our concept is to make it as easy to update an embedded product as to update a smartphone, so you don’t need a security expert,” said George Grey, chief executive of Foundries.io.
The startup will offer a Zephyr distribution that can fit into as little as 512 KBytes flash. It’s embedded Linux, based on Open Embedded/Yocto, implements Docker Containers and fits into less than 200 Mbytes. Both will be offered with subscriptions that include over-the-air security patches and other updates initially on a weekly basis.
The startup is charging $2,500/month or $25,000/year for a Linux product, regardless of how many devices use it. It charges $1,000/month or $10,000/year for Zephyr.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Parametrit vaikuttavat paljon Bluetooth-linkin laatuun
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8338&via=n&datum=2018-08-23_13:10:00&mottagare=30929
Tomi Engdahl says:
EAM and safety: 5 strategies for success
Turn data into action and ditch the paper to integrate your process.
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/eam-and-safety-5-strategies-for-success/332ef419875385b9077be8623d709691.html?OCVALIDATE=
$250 billion per year
The human and economic cost of workplace accidents in the United States is astronomical, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In 2016, BLS reported 2.9 million workplace injuries and 5,190 workers died across all industries and sectors. OSHA placed the cost to companies and the wider economy at a stunning $250 billion, including $1 billion per week in worker compensation costs. That is a lot of money to be saved with an ounce of prevention.
Before and after EAM
Enterprise asset management (EAM) platforms can make a difference in factory or workplace safety. Here are five examples:
1. Predictive maintenance
Before: Plant engineers relied heavily on corrective maintenance plans that essentially meant fixing things when they started to fail. They used paper-based systems or simple spreadsheets to track inspection and repair histories.
After: EAM delivers a complete, end-to-end preventive and predictive maintenance schedule based on manufacturers’ specifications and up-to-the-minute equipment histories.
2. Avoiding break-fix
Before: Inspections caught any imminent failure that a technician could see, hear, or smell. Otherwise, the unit got attention when it broke, often leading to weeks of downtime while parts were ordered and delivered.
After: Internet of Things (IoT) sensors spot changes in equipment function that point to deficiencies, inefficiencies, or emerging hazards before human intervention would spot them.
3. Data mobility
Before: Maintenance shops kept multiple shelves of OEM manuals to guide technicians through their work. The pages were often ripped and covered in grease, and the manuals themselves were hard to maneuver when technicians went onsite.
After: A mobile EAM system delivers schematics and instructions to tablet devices, producing a particularly powerful efficiency gain when repair personnel are working in remote locations.
4. Instant updates without paper
Before: Technicians received paper work orders, wrote in their reports and comments as they completed their rounds, then handed their notes off to a clerk or waited in line to enter them on a central terminal at the end of the work day.
After: A sophisticated series of mobile checklists helps guide repair teams through their work, then allows them to instantly update the record through a series of handy dropdown menus.
5. An integrated safety record
Before: Senior management could get periodic written updates on equipment performance and maintenance practices, often compiled some time after the failures occurred or the work was done.
After: An EAM system that integrates with the company’s enterprise software platform gives decision-makers immediate visibility on maintenance costs and performance—and on the implications for operational safety.
An integrated approach to EAM delivers immediate dividends to shop floor safety and productivity. Companies that pay close attention to EAM generally see fewer injuries, with less downtime and associated costs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
European consortium aims to improve IoT security, interoperability
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/european-consortium-aims-to-improve-iot-security-interoperability/6ceb2dd3a96e46a7d87dcf7419b1bca6.html?OCVALIDATE=
International: A European consortium is to begin working on Brain-IoT, a framework to improve the interoperability and security of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Actuation and control are among areas of concern.
In an effort to improve the interoperability and security of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, a new European consortium is to begin working on a framework called Brain-IoT. The consortium includes 12 industry and academic partners from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K., including Airbus CyberSecurity, Siemens AG, and service robotics company, Robotnik.
The consortium is headed by Istituto Superiore Mario Boella (ISMB) in Italy, and co-funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 program, with a budget of €5 million [$5.783 million].
Brain-IoT aims to establish a framework and methodology that supports IoT platforms, offering model-based tools to aid the development of integrated solutions for interoperability, and cybersecurity. The consortium also aims to embed security control features and greater security awareness in IoT systems, especially in scenarios such as critical infrastructure management. The development of modular AI systems that can be deployed across networks of standardized IoT devices will be a core focus of the project, especially in edge and hybrid cloud environments.
The Brain-IoT project held a kick-off meeting earlier this year to focus on complex scenarios where actuation and control are cooperatively supported by populations of heterogeneous IoT systems. The meeting looked at how Brain-IoT will establish the principle that future IoT applications should never be supported by one unique, irreplaceable IoT platform. Rather, services should exist within a federated or evolving environment using current industry standards and be capable of adapting to future developments.