The IoT Security Building Blocks: Data At Rest

The Internet of Things is quickly transforming how companies do business.  With readily available data, companies are seizing new opportunities, developing state-of-the-art connected products, and creating new revenue streams. Easy access to data is the pinnacle of a successful IoT solution. It can also be the weakest link.  Every successful IoT strategy needs to consider the security of the data being handled. As our Security in Internet of Things Systems white paper illustrates, this can be thought of in three contexts. The first context and the focus of this IoT security blog segment is data at rest.

Data at rest is data that is stored on a hard drive, in a database, in flash memory, or in RAM. Data that is customer-private should always be encrypted so that if attackers gain access to the database, they cannot understand the information. Other data, like analog sensor data, may or may not be important to encrypt depending on the application. Of particular importance is the embedded system that may or may not have encrypted flash. Some microcontrollers also allow a fuse to be blown at manufacturing time to disable another user from reading the contents of flash or re-programming it with their own software. These are all mechanisms to protect data at rest.

Exosite encrypts customer-private data in the cloud and works with customers to make recommendations on the use of effective microprocessors, secure memory, and crypto engines that keep IoT data safe on embedded devices.

As a leading consumer and industrial IoT platform provider Exosite is here to help at any and every step of your connected project. Contact us directly to launch your IoT solution today or download the full IoT security white paper below.