Standardisation is needed for the Internet of things (IOT) to advance, says Andy Robb, CTO at Duxbury Networking.
To date, IOT technologies and platforms have been developed and implemented with little standards or guidance from regulatory bodies such as the GSMA, says Manfred Kube, head of Gemalto's M2M (machine-to-machine) division.
The variety of IOT operators developing technologies, interfaces and applications in this absence of regulation has led to a definite lack of interoperability between IOT systems, says Robb. This greatly increases the complication, cost and chance of failure of IOT solutions, he says.
Insufficient standardisation also presents a spike in security risks, because more complex systems with more components mean more places where vulnerabilities can be found and exploited. "So many more points need securing, never mind the different security technologies needed to achieve this," Robb continues.
Yet standardisation is generating increasing concern as awareness grows around these security vulnerabilities, says Kube.
Methods of standardisation vary according to industry, he says. "The energy market is at the forefront of developing standards for its critical infrastructure," particularly in the EU, he says. For example, Germany's Federal Office for Information Security has specified a protection profile for the gateways of smart meters, to which all new meters must align, he says. The UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change has written specifications for smart meters and gateways as well, he adds.
In addition to industry-specific regulations, "there are some overarching standards, such as those defined for Machine Identification Modules (MIMs) that enable trust across all markets and industries," says Kube. MIM standards establish protocols for identifying machines and devices, enabling trust for end-users and MNOs, he explains.
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