Issue link: https://resources.mouser.com/i/1442760
11 | 11 | By Majeed Ahmad for Mouser Electronics Security is a must in today's connected-systems that are driving the Internet of Things (IoT) movement. Connected sensors, nodes, and other devices are vulnerable to both local and remote attacks. The use of digital signatures allow these systems to verify the software is genuine or that any updates are coming from a trusted source (Figure1), helping to maintain these systems secure. A number of high-profile security breaches have created a rude awakening as evidenced by a recent survey from the Barr Group, which illustrates how the embedded industry is improving security and making it a priority in design projects. Majeed Ahmad is former Editor-in- Chief of EE Times Asia, a sister publication of EE Times. Moreover, as the Editor-in-Chief at Global Sources, a Hong Kong-based trade and technology publishing house, he spearheaded magazines related to electronic components, consumer electronics, and computer, security and telecom products. Majeed is a journalist with an engineering background and two decades of experience in writing, editing and acquiring technical content. He is also author of six books on electronics: Smartphone, Nokia's Smartphone Problem and The Next Web of 50 Billion Devices, Mobile Commerce 2.0, Age of Mobile Data, and Essential 4G Guide. He is presently an independent technology writer, contributing for B2B technology publications. Authenticators for a Secure Internet of Things Security coprocessors are set to raise the bar by employing hardware crypto engines and by facilitating three major tenets in Internet of Things (IoT) security: Key storage, communication, and device integrity. Adding physically unclonable function (PUF) circuitry is also boosting these credentials against physical attacks. Figure 1: The more you get connected, the more you are exposed to cyber attacks. (Source: Maxim Integrated)