CSPs are well-positioned to benefit from the continuing growth of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and related systems-but only as long as the infrastructure can support some IoT-specific challenges, including of course security.

Unlike the mobile device world, these infrastructures typically combine vast numbers of low-cost devices transmitting small amounts of data at a low bandwidth. Devices can be widely dispersed in terms of geography. They can be difficult to physically manage or update, and they can also reside in hard to reach or unusual places (e.g., buried deep underground or on top of a mountain). Finally, devices are often very constrained in terms of cost or resources, which may make it difficult to integrate the same strong security features which are commonplace in traditional environments.

Let us start by examining a few use cases of IoT to better understand the issues:

Smart Cities are an exciting new prospect, and are enabled in many ways by IoT. Such developments involve a wide range of connected functions, ranging from parking aids to critical functions such as energy management, water supply, and public safety.

Critical infrastructure protection is a related (and overlapping) use case, as industrial networks begin looking at the benefits of moving from legacy protocols to an IoT approach.

The smart city case serves as a good example of how diverse IoT applications can be: A parking space occupation sensor may only need to transmit a single empty/occupied indication several times a day, whereas CCTV systems may be transmitting constant high-bandwidth streams.

In addition to bandwidth variations, the criticality of the data is also variable. If parking space data is compromised, the consequences are not so bad. If the electricity distribution is compromised, the potential dangers could be life threatening.

So all is not equal in the world of IoT.

Smart vehicles are also a high-growth area. This infrastructure must include or anticipate security for everything from navigation systems and infotainment, to in-car Wi-Fi, to insurance telematics, and ultimately to autonomous self-driving vehicles. A particularly interesting area of development is vehicle to everything (V2X), which covers a range of communications between a vehicle and other entities: