In the coming decades, we will live in a world surrounded by tens of billions of devices that inter-operate and collaborate to deliver personalized or autonomic services. Our growing reliance on machine-to-machine (M2M) systems to make decisions on our behalf has profound implications for the quality and integrity of the data that guides our actions.
Trust is the belief in the competence of a machine or sensor to act dependably, securely and reliably within a specified context. In M2M systems, trust is commonly accomplished using cryptography, digital signatures, and electronic certificates. This approach establishes and evaluates a trust chain between devices, but it does not tell us enough about the quality of information being exchanged among machines. Trust is a broader notion than information security; it includes subjective criteria and experience.
An essential part of managing trust and security in the age of an Internet of Things (IoT) is identity management for the machine (i.e., non-human) participants. The IoT introduces new challenges in identity management in "things" that have different lifetimes (ranging from years or decades down to days or minutes); in "things" that may be composed of other things, creating a system of systems; and in "things" are mobile, meaning they can take on the address once associated with another device and they can have more than one IP address. Since it is essential that we trust that we are talking to the right "thing" and that we can believe the data it communicates to us, providing trust as a service to devices in a system is an important emerging need. Research at the Institute for Information Security & Privacy looks at the idea of "trust as a service" in dynamic sensor networks. This includes traditional trust management techniques, such as reputation algorithms combined with identity access management approaches.
Research Updates & News
July 30, 2018
Margaret Loper discusses women in cybersecurity with the "Chick in Charge" podcast and why encouraging girls to explore scientific careers is a win-win.
July 9, 2018
A white paper by Georgia Tech's Internet of Things Center offers perspectives on IoT-facilitated user engagement, including concerns such as cybersecurity, privacy, platforms and device connection.
April 18, 2018
Researchers are creating a connected new world through the internet of things via an array of research disciplines at Georgia Tech.
Oct. 5, 2017
Margaret Loper leads a panel discussion at Cyber Blur 2017 -- about the blurry edge between information technology (IT), operations technology (OT), or Internet of Things (IoT), held as part of Atlanta Cyber Week.
June 28, 2017
"Smart Cities," by Georgia Tech's Research Horizons, examines the work of Margaret Loper to prepare cities for the new risk of cyberattacks as warfare moves "from wide open spaces to urban environments,” she says.
December 2016
“IIoT: Past, Present, and Future," panel, U.S. Air Force Industrial Internet of Things Summit; Dayton, Ohio
October 2016
“Smart Cities,” presentation, DARPA Strategic Technology Office (STO) Offsite, Charlottesville, Va., October 2016
Sept. 26, 2016
Margaret Loper interviewed for the Office of the Inspector General United States Postal Service report, “The Postal Service and Cities: A “Smart” Partnership,” in regard to Atlanta’s "Smart Cities" initiatives.
July 19, 2016
“IoT Education," panel, Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) Internet of Things Symposium, Atlanta
Oct. 31, 2016
Georgia Tech Launches New Research Center for the Security of Machine Learning Systems
Oct. 27, 2016
New Research Finds Widespread Kernel Vulnerabilities in Operating Systems
June 6, 2016
Research Paper: "Machine to Machine Trust in the IoT Era"
April 2015
“The Intersection of Big Data, Cognitive Computing, and Design and Engineering,” presentation, Congress on the Future of Engineering Software (COFES), Scottsdale, Ariz.