From Silicon Labs: "Committed to a Secure IoT"

Media coverage of high-profile attacks regularly make sensational headlines when security experts are quoted painting pictures of how creepy an insecure future is [1,2,3]. This is partly because negative and scary news sells [4], but there have also been hacks and security vulnerabilities that show just how critical adequate security is and how seemingly harmless devices can be compromised [5,6]. The security experts might even exaggerate their claims as a call to action.

Obviously, not connecting devices is not a solution to this problem. It is important to keep in mind that the reason why all of these devices are getting smart and connected is because of the enormous value and benefits connected devices offer society [7]. Using the scarce resources of the planet in a smart way is crucial for our future, and just one way the IoT’s promise dramatically outweighs the risks.

At Silicon Labs, a secure IoT is one of our most important goals.

Today, there are many initiatives to regulate the security of IoT-devices, and we are starting to see regulations [8]. We welcome these regulations because they are necessary for a secure IoT. And when regulations arrive, our technology will be complaint and we will be ready to help our customers secure their products using our technology. 

And until IoT Security is regulated, we’ll focus on being a good global citizen and bear our share of the responsibility:

• We set the standard in integrated security functionality for the devices in our markets, and will continue to do so:
  • In the last generation of products, we introduced fast and secure cryptography engines in hardware for asymmetric cryptography.
  • Our Gecko Secure Bootloader, using asymmetric cryptography, is already widely deployed, securing a large number of products against attacks that utilize a weakly secured bootloader [6].
• We help our customers secure end products through training and documentation:
  • See for instance this recent webinar on why the IoT requires upgradability [9].
  • Or this whitepaper on security tradeoffs for wireless IoT protocols [10].
• We track and monitor potential vulnerabilities in our products, and promptly work with our customers to mitigate risk:
  • See for instance the recent note on the Bluetooth pairing vulnerability [11].
  • If you find a suspected vulnerability in one of our products, please report it here [12].

Securing the IoT will not be free. There is a cost to adding security technology, and there are development costs. We’re working hard every day to minimize that cost in our products. Still we run into customers that don’t want security technology because it costs more than zero. We believe that those products will not be successful in the long run.

To this end, we are committed to a secure IoT, with successful secure products.

Source: https://www.silabs.com/community/blog.entry.html/2018/11/02/committed_to_a_secur-fQ8j 

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