Mechanisms to Secure Communications in the IoT

Abstract

The maturity of the IoT depends on the security of communications and the protection of end-user's privacy. However, technological and material heterogeneities, and the asymmetric nature of communications between sensor nodes and ordinary Internet hosts, make the security in this case more problematic. Major problem facing the large deployment of IoT is the absence of a unified architecture and a lack of common agreement in defining protocols and standards for IoT parts. Many solutions have been proposed for the standardization of security concepts and protocols in IoT at different layers. Even though many advances and proposals were made for IoT adaptation as IPv6 for Low Power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN), and at application layer with protocols such as XMPP, MQTT, CoAP, etc., security of the IoT remains a very challenging task and an open research topic. This chapter focuses on existing protocols and different proposed mechanisms in literature to secure communications in the IoT.