Mocana, a provider of integrated device security solutions for IoT and control systems, recently announced the availability of a new cyber protection solution for massive IoT, smart cities and distributed intelligence networks.
The solution is based on new device admission control capabilities for Mocana’s TrustPoint on-device security software solution. The new controls reportedly allow TrustPoint-enabled devices with limited memory and processing power, such as process sensors and IoT devices, to use certificate-based authentication and network filtering embedded into the device’s software to defend against network-based cyber attacks on smart city, smart lighting, industrial and massive IoT applications.
“Cyber attacks on control systems are on the rise,” said Joe Weiss, managing partner, Applied Control Solutions. “Compromised networks can spread malware to attack other vulnerable devices, such as process sensors, industrial control equipment, and IoT devices. With the Stuxnet and Triton attacks, it was shown that malware can jump over segmented networks and air gaps. Mocana’s device security solutions will help to protect Level 0/1 devices that are among the most critical and vulnerable assets in control systems and commercial/industrial IoT systems.”
Network access control (NAC) technologies are used extensively on servers, laptops and smart devices. Implementing access controls on IoT devices has proven to be more difficult because of the limited memory and processing power of such devices. Mocana says it has solved this problem with the introduction of its new device admission controls.
Mocana’s solution reportedly authenticates or validates the identity of devices before they are allowed to communicate with the rest of the network. The device admission control capabilities are designed to enable sensors and IoT devices to defend against a number of attack scenarios, including:
- Dictionary attacks that determine a user’s password
- DHCP denial of service (DOS) attacks in which a device attempts to lease all available DHCP IP addresses
- Replay attacks in which a device appears to be functioning correctly when it has been compromised
- Spoofing attacks in which a device attempts to impersonate another device by using a false MAC address or IP address
“Ensuring the safety and reliability of systems is of paramount importance for mission critical systems,” said Dean Weber, CTO, Mocana. “In order to defend against modern network-based cyber attacks, companies need to ensure that their IoT devices are trusted and have not been compromised. Our on-device security controls are designed to operate within a tiny software footprint to enable the smallest of devices to protect themselves.”
Edited by
Ken Briodagh
