Explicit Private Networking for Low-Compute IoT Data Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
The proliferation of IoT devices with low compute and data throughput capabilities and limited security measures makes them vulnerable to cyberattacks, especially from nation-state actors, and existing network protocols lack robust authentication, creating a large attack surface and compromising critical systems.
Innovation Solution
Implementing explicit private networking techniques (EPN) that provide end-to-end security through secure cryptographic key establishment, trusted endpoints, and digital twins to manage data integrity and confidentiality from generation to consumption, using identity and access management services to authenticate and authorize interactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional network protocols are used in IoT devices, then device complexity and cost are reduced, but security and authentication capabilities deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces explicit private networking techniques as an intermediary layer between IoT devices and conventional networks. This mediator provides robust authentication and encryption capabilities without requiring complex security implementations within the IoT devices themselves, thus improving security while maintaining device simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The security functionality is segmented into separate components: lightweight authentication modules in IoT devices, and more sophisticated security processing in gateway or cloud infrastructure. This segmentation allows IoT devices to maintain low complexity while the overall system achieves high security through the distributed security architecture
2Reliability
If robust security measures are implemented in IoT devices, then security improves, but power consumption and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The explicit private networking framework acts as an intermediary that handles computationally intensive security operations (such as key management and encryption/decryption) in gateway or cloud infrastructure, allowing IoT devices to use simpler, lower-power security mechanisms while still achieving robust end-to-end security
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements security measures selectively - lightweight authentication and encryption at the device level, with enhanced security processing performed partially in the network infrastructure. This partial distribution of security functions reduces the power consumption burden on battery-constrained IoT devices while maintaining overall system security
3Reliability
If authentication and encryption are implemented in IoT devices, then data protection improves, but compute requirements and device cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The explicit private networking framework introduces intermediary components (gateway, cloud service) that perform computationally intensive authentication and encryption operations. IoT devices only need to implement lightweight client-side security functions, while the mediator handles the heavier computational burden, thus achieving strong data protection without requiring high-compute IoT devices
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the need for complex local security processing in IoT devices with cloud-based or gateway-based security services. The computational workload is shifted from the mechanical/constrainted IoT device to the more powerful network infrastructure, enabling strong data protection with minimal impact on device compute requirements
4Reliability
If secure cryptographic key establishment is implemented, then end-to-end security improves, but device complexity and key management overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The explicit private networking framework introduces a mediator (gateway or cloud service) that manages cryptographic key establishment and distribution. IoT devices interact with this mediator to obtain security credentials, eliminating the need for complex peer-to-peer key management between devices. The mediator handles the complexity of key generation, distribution, rotation, and revocation, while devices use simplified authentication protocols
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure relates to, among other things, managing data communicated between systems, services, and/or devices using explicit private networking techniques that provide relatively robust end-to-end security. In some embodiments, explicit private networking techniques may protect data in transit and/or as at rest and/or in use in potentially hostile environments. In various embodiments, an explicit private networking techniques architecture may protect connected device data where and when it is generated by encrypting it and maintaining that protection until it is consumed in a trusted information platform and/or service that uses identity and access management services to identify, authenticate, and/or authorize permissions to read, modify, and/or collaborate with that data and/or control devices and/or issue associated device commands.