IoT and M2M Security

This article originally appeared in HuffPost on 11/29/17.

There are many estimations for the number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices we will have by 2020, ranging from 20 Billion to 200 Billion, depending on the study you read. Even if it’s on the low end, of 20 Billion devices, that’s still a lot. And, more importantly, it’s plenty to execute a Distributed Denial of Service attack (DDOS), similar to the massive attack that occurred a little over a year ago using devices such as home routers, and cameras.

What is a DDOS attack? In a nutshell, an ‘attack’ that consists of a software script orchestrating millions of devices, like your nanny cam, to request a response from a specific server all at the same time. Due to the millions of devices doing that in tandem, the server in question crashes, and there you go, hack succeeded. Imagine the server in question is the one that runs the traffic lights in your city, and you see the seriousness of the issue here, and why IOT security should be a matter of genuine concern for all citizens.

If you’ve been following my article series, or others on the topic, you know my now that the blockchain offers a new level of security that trumps today's traditional software and hardware firewall solutions typically put in place to protect home routers and the like. Because it’s nearly impossible to trigger device actions without authorized authentication, and because the blockchain is the new master of authentication, it just makes sense for the two to come together to provide a reliable solution for IoT security, and our lives in general.

And beyond life and death security scenarios like my traffic light example, there are lighter but still essential cases, where we always want rock-solid security. For instance, regarding micropayments. With the advent of AI and machine to machine interaction (M2M), we will begin to see IoT transactions being used to facilitate payments between devices (IoT and M2M are not one in the same). Yes, your things will be spending your hard earned money for you, and I’m guessing you will want to secure those transactions.

It’s not as far-fetched as you may think. Imagine this. Your new refrigerator is connected to the internet and therefore is an IoT, thing - and it happens to have an excellent new water filtration system in it. Its water filter is reaching an expiration date, and knowing you want to order a filter before its current one expires, it’s relays a message to your Amazon Echo to order a replacement. The smart contract in place with the Echo and your refrigerator makes sure you don’t already have some filters in stock in the basement, and if you don’t, more are ordered. This communication between your refrigerator, and your echo, and then to Amazon itself equates to real money coming out of your bank account, and when that is the case, the best in class security should be expected.

This is once again, where blockchain has no rivals. With each of your devices holding their private keys, smart contracts controlling if/then conditions, and the open ledger being a record of the current actual state of things, complete control is kept over the level and frequency of communication.

Once you start exploring this, it becomes clear what a massive opportunity this is for the future of our digital lives. One company making headway is a brand you know, Hyundai. HyundaiPay and their partner, DoubleChain is working to integrate the new HDAC blockchain system, which is optimized for IoT devices, and M2M payments, amongst other things.

Blockchain technology is the only way to achieve the level of security that Hdac technology and HyundaiPay aim to deliver. The Hdac blockchain and smart contract pairing addresses security issues by providing immutable information and makes the automated protection over the platform possible in a way that was previously impossible to guarantee. It is indeed an exciting time for security protocols! They will hold a TGE (Token Generation Event) for the HDAC token on November 27th. Learn more about HDAC here.

“We are thrilled to hold a TGE to bring security and transparency to IoT devices,” said Dae-Sun Chung, Founder of Hdac Technology AG, “With more IoT devices hitting the market daily, our lives become more connected. Although there are many benefits to this, we open ourselves to great security risks. Blockchain technology and special the Hdac blockchain is the best way to leverage trust, transparency, and security on IoT.”

Another excellent example of blockchain changing the way we will live our lives. Whether you like it or not, the modern landscape will include machines making payments on our behalf, so it’s exciting to be proactive and make sure we will be secure against bad actors.