Trust, in an Internet of Things

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We propose to research trust, in an Internet of Things (IoT). IoT is a collection of several billion semi-autonomous, and autonomous devices, that communicate with one another in support of ecosystems that are of importance to us, for example, in support of healthcare and residential delivery of electricity. Trust is a fundamental property in information security; it is the property on which many effective security mechanisms rely. We propose that trust is a cornerstone of securing IoT, and in perceiving IoT security as such, we propose three objectives. One is the design, analysis and development of trust models that are suitable for IoT. We hypothesize that only relatively few such models are needed to encompass all the application scenarios of IoT, and propose solutions that are practical, and grounded in strong foundations of information security and computing. Another objective of the proposed research program is bootstrapping trust, both in digital Integrated Circuits (ICs), which are the basis for devices in IoT, and from computer hardware, via so-called Physical Unclonable Functions, i.e., random functions realized in a manner that is difficult to replicate, which can then be used to bootstrap and establish trust. A third objective of our proposed research program regards trust negotiation, via which IoT devices can establish trust by carefully communicating with one another. The objective of trust negotiation is that a device develops trust in another, without compromising attributes and data that it seeks to keep secret. As with our first objective on trust management, we propose to design effective techniques, protocols and algorithms for trust negotiation in IoT, that are suitable for the application domains to which IoT is targeted. Our proposed research program will bring significant technical advances at the intersection of the ongoing revolution in IoT, which is already transforming our lives, and information security. A security breach in IoT can harm us, e.g., by compromising our healthcare. This research seeks to ensure that IoT helps, and does not harm, us. Thus, of particular interest to us in this research are application scenarios for IoT that are of everyday value to Canadians: healthcare, and residential systems such as smart televisions and electric meters. This research will fundamentally transform the security posture of IoT. We will make pieces of software available for both trust management and negotiation that can then help not only researchers, but also practitioners, as it is a significant challenge to build such software in-house without the kind of expertise that the PI and his research team possess. The proposed research will train several Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) in skills that are in high demand in Canada, at the MASc and PhD levels. We anticipate that our technical outputs will be of value in a ten- to twenty-year timeframe. The HQP, in turn, will make lasting contributions to Canada.