Securing UART communication interface in embedded IoT devices

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UART is a no ACK communication protocol that can be read by any device if the baud rate is known, and that calls for robust security measures.

www.eetasia.com, Aug. 09, 2021 – 

With the increasing number of high-profile data and privacy breaches in the Internet of Things (IoT) systems, businesses and consumers have a greater awareness of the need for security when buying connected products. Providing best-in-class products or services is no longer enough. Devices that fail to provide adequate security will fail to be able to compete with those that provide end-to-end security.

Many protocols implement security within the standard and are a built-in part of any controller. Embedded devices that connect via universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART), however, are not protected. UART is one of the simplest digital communication interfaces between devices. It's a no ACK communication protocol that can be read by any device if the baud rate is known.

To prevent data from being read or injected into the system, the communication channel needs to be secured by the systems sending and receiving the data. Thus, even if an intruder gains access to the communication channel with the correct baud rate, the channel will be protected.

Symmetric and asymmetric security

Communication channels are often secured using cryptographic algorithms. Broadly speaking, cryptographic algorithms can be classified as symmetric and asymmetric. With symmetric key algorithms, the sender and receiver share a single secret key. The sender encrypts the message using the key and shares the encrypted message with the receiver. The receiver then uses the same key to decrypt the message.

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