Intrinsic ID's Pim Tuyls Discusses Embedded Security

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IoT security has become a significant concern for businesses and consumers.

www.eetasia.com/, Aug. 25, 2023 – 

With the rapid growth of connected devices or internet of things (IoT), security has become a significant concern for businesses and consumers using these products. Manufacturers and device vendors are having to respond to not only customer pressure, but also government legislation around the world.

As an indication of the latter, only last month, the U.S. government announced a national IoT security label that manufacturers and retailers can opt to use to assure consumers that their smart connected IoT devices meet a certain level of cyber safety, and therefore are less vulnerable to cyberattacks. The new "U.S. Cyber Trust Mark" program proposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would raise the bar for cybersecurity across common devices, including smart refrigerators, smart microwaves, smart televisions, smart climate control systems and smart fitness trackers.

Several major electronics, appliance and consumer-product manufacturers, retailers, and trade associations have made voluntary commitments to increase cybersecurity for the products they sell.

The new label supports the IoT security requirements under NISTIR 8425, which resulted from an Executive Order to improve the nation's cybersecurity. This label will recognize products that meet these requirements by permitting them to display a U.S. government label and be listed in a registry indicating that these products meet U.S. cybersecurity standards.

Security vendors have been advocating security for years, and often bemoaned the fact that OEMs weren't taking security seriously. But the fact that there are now programs like the IoT security label makes their job a lot easier.

One of the companies involved in enabling embedded security in IoT devices is Intrinsic ID. We caught up with CEO Pim Tuyls–to get an update on some of the challenges and opportunities for embedded security.

Pim, why is embedded security vital? In particular, what is your company's role in enabling security in connected devices?

Digital trust is one of the world's biggest problems. Today, everything is connected. And, as the number of connected devices grows, touching all aspects of our life, the stakes are higher than ever. Our homes, cars, factories and doctor's offices are filled with smart devices that constantly exchange information.

Crucially, these devices must ascertain the authenticity of the other devices they communicate with. Similarly to how we establish trust with humans by observing their facial expressions and recognizing their voice, machines also require this kind of trust. How can each machine verify the identity of the other machines it interacts with? This issue looms large in today's interconnected world, and this is the daunting problem we address.

The foundation of secure systems lies in secure hardware because trust is virtually non-existent without reliable hardware. Our specialization at Intrinsic ID is in empowering device manufacturers and chip vendors to develop a robust root of trust through a comprehensive range of both hardware and software IP solutions–all built with physical unclonable function (PUF) technology. PUF tech capitalizes on the inherent variations in the manufacturing process of ICs, enabling the generation of a unique digital identifier.

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