Review: Securing the Internet of Things

Securing the Internet of Things

About the authors

Shancang Li is a senior lecturer in the cyber security research unit, Department of Computer Science and Creative Technologies at University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. His security background ranges from network penetration testing, wireless security, mobile security, and digital forensics.

Li Da Xu is an IEEE Fellow and an academician of Russian Academy of Engineering. He is an Eminent Professor in Department of Information Technology and Decision Science at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA. Many consider him to be one of the founding fathers of an emerging discipline called Industrial Information Integration Engineering.

Inside Securing the Internet of Things

In the book’s introduction, the authors do a good job explaining the current situation regarding the Internet of Things: the complexities, the security requirements and concerns, the need for standardization, the architecture (sensing layer, network layer, service layer, and application-interface layer) and security issues for each layer. It serves as a good, compact primer into the technologies that make IoT possible.

The next five chapters are more thorough dives into various issues related to IoT security: the threats, the attacks, privacy, secrecy and availability issues, technologies and their (security) limitations.

Finally, the book also includes three very short chapters by Dr Imed Romdhani, professor in networking at Edinburgh Napier University, on the topics of the existing security scheme for IoT, security concerns in social IoT (“relationships” between various devices to provide better service), and confidentiality and security for IoT based healthcare (how IoT can improve healthcare services).

This is a short book that offers offers some practical solutions for some of the described problems but, in general, it provides more information about the current state of things than insight into what is likely to come next – both in terms of technology and policy.

If that’s all you need, you’re likely to be satisfied with it, and can expand your knowledge by checking out the “Further Reading” portions included in nearly each chapter.

It’s a solid book for those who haven’t delved in the topic of IoT security before – those who have will not find much to pique their interest.

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