How Native Security Impacts IoT Device Manufacturing

Cybersecurity Concerns for IoT Devices

For decades, devices have been connecting to the internet and sharing data. “IoT device” refers to the billions of devices that can transmit data autonomously, without requiring human-to-human interaction. As our dependence on these devices deepens — and they manage more sensitive information — concerns about IoT data security rise. 
 
The threat landscape always changes. Two major concerns have emerged: 

• The increased use of IoT devices to build botnets for large-scale attacks 
• A surge in targeted supply chain breaches  

Attackers use increasingly sophisticated methods and hard-to-detect persistence techniques to infiltrate operational technology (OT) environments. They undermine device integrity and exfiltrate sensitive data without triggering conventional security controls.  

Supply chain breaches employ covert backdoors and advanced malware to compromise critical enterprise networks. They often exploit trusted relationships with third-party vendors, firmware providers or software update mechanisms. 

As cybercrime becomes more industrialized, threats require heightened attention to security from the design phase through production. 

How Are Devices Manufactured? 

Securing IoT devices presents unique challenges. Companies must integrate security considerations from the design phase.  

IoT devices combine hardware and software components. Once deployed in the field, it’s difficult — sometimes impossible — to patch device security issues. Design flaws, especially with hardware, are often permanent. Because developers cannot correct them after deployment, secure design is a critical priority. 

Manufacturers create IoT devices with a broad spectrum of native security layers. Some IoT devices have mechanisms that lock them into a network or a user. They can also bind to a server, preventing rerouted communication between the device and the server. This design ensures robust protection against hijacking attempts. 

The most effective way to protect the data on your IoT device is through a layered security approach that combines hardware and software protection. Overall resilience can be enhanced by leveraging:

• Hardware-based capabilities like secure elements (SEs) or trusted execution environments (TEEs) for cryptographic operations
• Robust software security controls
• A zero-trust approach

This allows users to consistently: 

• Monitor device behavior 
• Detect anomalies 
• Respond to threats 

However, not everyone manufactures IoT devices with safeguards in place. These security concerns are often overlooked until the later stages of the development life cycle. Relying solely on software security significantly increases the risk of data breaches, especially in resource-constrained or physically exposed environments. 

When to Implement Security into Device Manufacturing

Consider the following factors to determine whether to integrate native security into the manufacturing of an IoT device: 

• The device’s deployment scope 
• The target market 
• The sensitivity of the data the device will collect 
• The location of the device’s manufacturing and the security in place at the facility 
• Industry-specific requirements, particularly in sectors like health care and transportation, where security breaches could compromise safety 

Native security solutions for devices that handle sensitive information are typically built at the chip level. These solutions are challenging to modify, as the chip vendor or provider integrates security directly during the manufacturing process. 

How to Safeguard Devices against Cybertheft 

Addressing all data protection mechanisms in the early product design stages is crucial. Give special attention to how applications or firmware will be securely updated. 

One crucial way to protect IoT device data is encryption. With this method, the server uses a private key to decrypt the data, ensuring it originates from a trusted source. End-to-end encryption prevents exposing data to intermediaries, which reduces security risks. 

However, encryption and key management alone aren’t enough. Proper access controls and secure storage of keys are essential to protect your information from falling into the wrong hands. 

Additional data protection and privacy best practices include: 

• Collect and store only necessary information 
• Monitor IoT devices to detect unauthorized devices on your network 
• Implement strong password authentication along with multifactor authentication (MFA) 
• Secure the network environment in which devices operate 
• Control physical access to devices 

Ensure Security for IoT Devices

There is not one universal solution to IoT device security. Employing multiple layers of security is the most effective way to protect your data.  

Telit Cinterion has over 30 years of IoT enablement experience. We build our certified cellular and non-cellular modules from the ground up with a security by design approach.  

Speak with our IoT experts to learn more about our secure IoT modules and select the right one for your application. 

Editor’s note: This blog was originally published on 26 June 2020 and has since been updated.