IIT Kharagpur Scientists Built A New Tech To SafeGuard IoT Devices

It seems like from now onwards, it will almost be impossible for hackers to intrude into any IoT infrastructure or network worldwide, as Scientists in the CSE Department of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur has developed a fingerprint generator circuit prototype which is capable of fully protecting IoT devices from any kind of hacking or cyberattacks. This latest development has seen the daylight yesterday only with IITian Rajat Subhra Chakraborty (Research Faculty- IoT Lab) and his team of students testing the PUFs (Physically Unclonable Functions) successfully for the first time. Seeing this development unfold in front of us, we are bound to say that this level of Artificial Intelligence in context of the “Connected Devices” landscape is really commendable.

According to Rajat Subhra Chakraborty - “The PUFs consume very little power and are also very light in weight, which makes them capable of installing on any Iot device. They are fingerprint generator circuits for electronic objects which uniquely scan each object and thus help in authenticating the commands sent to the connected IoT devices.” However, the machine learning algorithm involved under this superb innovation is still unknown to most of us.

What is IoT Exactly ?

The IoT OR Internet Of Things means internetworking of physical smart devices which includes vehicles, buildings, electronic devices, softwares, actuators, sensors etc. These all devices together are also called “connected devices” as they can exchange information and data among themselves with the help of the common web network connectivity.

An Example Demonstrating The Danger Involved With The Hacking of IoT Networks

With the help of IoT connectivity, doctors can control and operate a pacemaker in a patient’s heart from a remote location and can also modify the pace of the said device. This happens as a result of Iot devices running on commands being sent from one device to another on the same network, but the problem lies with these commands mostly been unencrypted. And this eventually leads to most of the electronic devices being vulnerable and open to hacking and manipulations.

How Much Market Ready Are These IoT Network SafeGuarding Prototypes

According to Chakraborty, one of the two main faculties leading the research efforts towards the said development - “The receiving device will read the command, cross-check the authenticity of the sender and then operate”. Besides, a prototype has already been built by the IIT team at the IoT lab and the same is currently in the testing phase in context of making it available to the market as soon as possible.

Also Read : IoT Landscape to be Revolutionized with the Advent of NOKIA WING

Further, testing for wireless smart lighting systems and wireless IP CCTV cameras has already been completed successfully. Under this testing process, the concerned team installed PUFs on the IoT devices and then tried to make unauthorised usage of the involved IoT network. As a result, the PUFs did their intended work and completely prevented the unauthorised usage.

The ever increasing infusion of Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning in our daily lives is going to completely change the way we operate our electronic devices in the near future. Whether it is about the fully-autonomous cars or the advent of Nokia WING(Worldwide IOT Network Grid), all these developments are signalling towards a better and connected future.