Insights

The 10 Challenges of Securing IoT Communications

1 min read • Developer Relations Team on May 4, 2020

One of the key topics at last week’s IoT StreamConf was security—how to secure communication for billions of connected devices and prevent attackers from stealing data, disrupting services, or taking control of devices. With IoT still in its early stages, security is less understood compared to industries like finance and e-commerce. From wearables to large-scale deployments like oil field sensors, security must be a top priority from the start.

In her talk, Rohini Pandhi, Product Manager at PubNub, outlined ten key challenges for securing IoT communication, such as encryption, access control, and metadata tracking, and shared scalable messaging design patterns.

Video Table of Contents

  1. Defining the Internet of Things (10:27)

  2. Unprotected devices will be attacked (13:15)

  3. Encryption (15:46)

  4. Single security model for all communications (17:56)

  5. Access control (20:13)

  6. Tracking device metadata (21:14)

  7. Provisioning in the field (22:38)

  8. Firmware updates in the field (24:07)

  9. Compliance with regulations (25:15)

  10. Reinventing the wheel (26:17)

More Resources on Securing IoT Communication

  • The Next Generation of IoT:

    PubNub CEO Todd Greene discusses the evolving IoT stack and its focus on security.

  • Securing the Internet of Streams:

    Doron Sherman explores smarter, loosely-coupled IoT security approaches.

  • Securing the Internet of Things (MicroChip Publication): A guide to building secure publish/subscribe IoT patterns.

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