HomeCA: Scalable Secure IoT Network Integration

Abstract

Integrating Internet of Things (IoT) devices into an existing network is a nightmare. Minimalistic, unfriendly user interfaces, if any; badly chosen security methods, most notably the defaults; lack of long term security; and bugs or misconfigurations are plentiful. As a result, an increasing number of owners operate unsecure devices. Our investigations into the root causes of the problems resulted in the development of Home Certificate Authority (HomeCA). HomeCAincludes a comprehensive set of secure, vendor-independent interoperable practices based on existing protocols and open standards. HomeCA avoids most of the current pitfalls in network integration by design. Long-term protocol security, permission management, and secure usage combined with simplified device integration and secure key updates on ownership acquisition pave the way toward scalable, federated IoT security.