TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
In the Era of IoT, Security at the Hardware Level is Key
In the Era of IoT, Security at the Hardware Level is KeyâA man scans people around him with his smartphone
Change Size
In the Era of IoT, Security at the Hardware Level is Key
'A man scans people around him with his smartphone. He simply gets their names, ages, recent personal changes and their income information, and he can even draw cash from their bank accounts. With his smartphone, he can control traffic lights and other devices near him and by using these, he can easily evade the police.'
This is a scene from a game themed after hacking, which was released recently. However, this is not just a scene from a game; it could be a prequel of a new dystopia, where every security system shuts down in the era of the Internet of Things (IoT).
We all know that the issue of security is nothing new in the history of PC developments. Since the 1980s, when personal computers were largely adopted, we have faced the threat of viruses and after the introduction of the World Wide Web, we are now facing a new threat called "malware". Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine in the near future in our "connected" world that there will be many more increasingly complex forms of hacking and system attacks.
The IoT is fundamentally weak from external attacks, as the scope of a future network will be more than just a simple connection of devices. Its scope will be gigantic, in a way that is similar to how neurons connect to one another in our bodies, with the most complicated communication between cognition and response interconnected. With that in mind, our personal data, intellectual property, weak points that we are yet to realize in the network's structure and systems that surround our everyday lives may be easy targets for attacks.
What I ' as a person who is deeply involved in the hardware industry ' can't emphasize enough is that we need to be prepared for security at a basic level. The reason why is very clear. To realize the environment of the IoT, processors and sensors must be embedded in every device that we use. This means that the embedded environment formerly specified to commercial enterprise space will be expanded to general consumers, which will eventually increase to an enormous amount of network edge everywhere, making it hard to manage just with software.
A simple scenario of this would be a system-managing Smart Home will recognize the user waking up in the morning by a sensor, and will prepare customized coffee and bread according to the user's preference. Also, it makes an optimal environment by recognizing the user's body temperature. The system will alert the user to today's schedule by connecting with one's smartphone on a smart TV, where the user's preferred channel is up on the screen. Basically, through the data shared between simple home devices, you can analyze a user's personal data including their preferences, body temperature and daily schedule. What if this information concerns business-related confidentiality or financial transaction data?
Last April, Microsoft announced its withdrawal of support for a security patch of Windows XP. This caused and is still causing great confusion in various sectors of information technology (IT) based on this operating system (OS). And this confusion is just the tip of the iceberg when compared to possible future security issues. As stated above, devices connected through networks with sensors and processors will increase significantly in the next 10 years. And this will facilitate the need for hardware developers and engineers to look at security in a very different way to develop integrated security solutions for our day-to-day devices.
As a company developing various innovative system semiconductors, AMD understands the importance of security in the era of the Internet of Things like no one else, and we are already responsibly responding to these needs. Realistically, there are probably two major camps for hardware-based security: proprietary or closed architecture and architecture based on open industry standards. AMD is a long-time supporter of open standards and, thus, has opted for the latter, joining the largest security ecosystem in the world: that based on ARM TrustZone® technology. Over this next year, AMD plans to roll out an AMD-wide product stack for client, server and graphics, embedded and semi-custom businesses based on what we call the AMD Platform Security Processor (PSP). Under the umbrella of AMD Secure Technology, the PSP will join other AMD IP innovations from the No Execute Bit to the Secure Asset Management Unit as the future of AMD's security strategy.
Together with our customers, we have identified use cases and areas of focus to enable independent software vendors (ISVs) to create complete solutions for the markets we are addressing. Components of these solutions are engineered to work together, while leaving room for our original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers to truly differentiate for both consumer- and commercial-grade platform offerings.
Security is no longer a task for just the software industry. It's our vision that through a hardware-based security strategy built on the open standards of ARM TrustZone technology, AMD will deliver enhanced security options to our customers and partners and help make the increasingly digital lives of end-users less dangerous.
David Bennett is the corporate vice president of AMD's Asia Pacific-Japan (APJ) Mega Region. In this role, Bennett is responsible for leading AMD's operations and sales efforts across the region in countries including Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Bennett has been with AMD for more than six years, holding a number of key global sales roles.
