A Framework for Data Protection of Embedded Systems in IoT Applications

A major share of security problems in current IoT applications stems from the implementation of designs with insufficient security features. Though the edge layer meets the resource and computational requirements of the end nodes of IoT, it paves the way for newer security vulnerabilities. The edge devices in the IoT paradigm are prone to many attacks largely targeting data. Low-cost applications cannot employ sophisticated embedded systems. As a result, resource crunches continue to exist and therefore, a solution proposed to tackle security issues should work well within the domain of the constraints. This paper proposes an IoT-enabled architecture for embedded systems which incorporates data protection as well as associated hardware protection. Data protection is ascertained through simple encoding implemented using the basic idea of logic obfuscation which makes it difficult for an adversary to tamper with it at the hardware level. The principle of parity generation is used to further strengthen the level of data protection. This proposed framework is a better solution given the computational complexity of cryptomodules and also their susceptibility to side-channel attacks.