Introducing New Open Standards to Safeguard IoT Device Security

Recently, I bought a new laser printer for my home. After taking it out of the box, connecting the USB cable, and plugging it into my computer, the driver software installed automatically in a few minutes, and I was ready to work. What shocked me was that this kind of “plug and play” experience is hard to come by with IoT devices, where deployment is usually time-consuming, expensive, and insecure. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

For a long time, Intel has been actively promoting innovation and industrial development in IoT technology, collaborating with innovative ecosystem partners to tackle industry challenges. Today, we, together with the FIDO Alliance, announce the launch of this Open IoT Protocol, which will help everyone install any IoT device more easily and securely.

By 2022, IoT-related spending is expected to reach $1.2 trillion, and we believe that this new protocol standard can help the industry reduce security risks while improving device operability. This is an important first step in addressing many security vulnerabilities in current enterprise and industrial IoT deployments.

Currently, IoT device deployment involves the installation of physical devices and the setup of related password credentials to securely communicate with the target cloud or platform. This installation process is typically manually performed by technicians, which is often slow, expensive, and insecure. In fact, the installation and setup costs are far lower than the cost of the devices themselves.

This is also a concern for everyone. A recent survey of vendors and enterprise users found that infrastructure vulnerabilities are a serious issue, with 85% of respondents stating that security issues remain a major challenge for the IoT industry. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of respondents indicated that end-to-end IoT security is their top priority in the short term.

Although many companies are striving to achieve automation of the installation process, so far, there is still no standardized solution widely accepted by the industry. Many existing solutions require determining the end customer at the time of device manufacturing for pre-configuration, which creates unnecessary friction and costs in the supply chain.

By launching this industry protocol standard, we will continue to refine the FIDO open standard to ensure reduced friction and ease of deployment. As a founding member of the FIDO Alliance, Intel is proud to help the industry reduce reliance on passwords and replace passwords with simple, scalable, and automated methods, making our IoT ecosystem more secure as it deploys globally.