Ericsson experts contribute to new IIC best practices for identity lifecycle management
Senior Expert, security
Technical Director, Expert IoT Ecosystem Technology
Senior Expert, security
Technical Director, Expert IoT Ecosystem Technology
Senior Expert, security
Technical Director, Expert IoT Ecosystem Technology
Today, system integrators, service providers and those who implement industrial IoT solutions have a powerful pallet of technologies available to design smart, secure and efficient systems. However, it’s critically important to be mindful of the processes around the life cycle of secure identities associated with devices to ensure that devices are managed securely and data ownership is maintained.
In the world of IIoT (Industrial IoT) the borders of what we call a device is getting blurred. On one hand, there is a trend towards ultra-constrained devices. At the same time, the industry is also trending towards more powerful devices where even part of the device is cloudified. With the latter example, developers can employ ready-made solutions from vendors, without having to build their own. Within that model, however, developers need to create separation for individual tasks, which can be accomplished using containers, like those provided by Linux.
Courtesy of John Fornehed
Because of these differences, it can be helpful to think of IoT devices not only as physical devices, but more of the collection of services that are anchored around a physical device. In many cases, it will not matter whether some services more are realized outside inside the device. It is the strong association of the service and the device, made possible through secure identities, that conceptually unites service and device as one. Regardless of whether a solution requires constrained devices or not, one common requirement is secure device identities.
For this paper to create an impact in the industry, there would need to be widespread adoption of the solutions it presents. Not only would that allow for massive scaling, but it could help overcome challenges related to working with different vendors for secure identities. The IIC believes one solution could be establishing a federation on top of which IoT solutions can be developed could for devices that utilize different vendor technologies. This federation would give better opportunities to prevent vendor lock-in and better options to include new identity technologies.
The latest Ericsson Mobility Report shows exponential growth in IoT connectivity. By the end of 2027, we’re forecasting that IoT technologies will connect half of all cellular IoT devices. Not only that, but new government regulations, such as the EU Cybersecurity Resilience Act, will soon take effect and impact these technologies. So, take a few minutes to read the full paper—it’s a good time to get up to date on the latest guidance.
