ARTICLE

Complete Device Lockdown

IoT Trust: The Future of IoT Privacy & Security

Last year, along with our partners, ZARIOT and Kigen, we announced IoT Trust, a simple, yet effective solution for IoT privacy and security. It is imperative that IoT device manufacturers, systems integrators, and solution owners have technology that solves today’s problems while looking towards the future. Our vision of the future is one where devices connected to the Internet are virtually hackproof, and able to be completely locked down (remotely!) if they are stolen or compromised.

We have since developed an eminently useful tool called SSH! No Ports, which allows people to SSH to a remote device without having any ports open. Yes, you read that correctly!

With an eye towards the future, we see how SSH! No Ports will continue to define an era of privacy and security. We see a future where our connected devices are virtually unhackable. There are three basic components to these unhackable devices:

1) No Network Attack Surface

SSH! No Ports uses outbound-only connections, leaving your device secure on the network, with no network attack surface.

2) Key Storage

Along with our partner, ZARIOT, we are engineering a method for storing a device’s private key on a SIM card (or other secure element).

3) Deletion Control

Forthcoming enhancements to the core atProtocol will enable an atSign owner to revoke the ability of a device to authenticate to their atSign.
- SSH! No Ports can then be enhanced so that if it detects that access has been revoked, it deletes any sensitive data being held on the device.

SSH! No Ports will allow people to remotely access their devices in the event that they are stolen or otherwise compromised. This is similar to how Apple allows people to use their Apple IDs to lock down their devices, except instead of a company routing your data, you are the one in control.

Photo Credit: pondsaksitphotos

Addressability vs. Identity on the Internet

Here at Atsign, we make all people, things, and organizations addressable on the Internet. But what does that mean? Barbara Tallent, Atsign CEO, explains the importance of addressability on the Internet, and how it differs from identity.