Industrial Internet Security Framework v 1.0 | Page 123

Security Framework

12: Looking Ahead—The Future of the IIoT

Split key technology could be used to enable multi-party control (i.e., N of M) of IIoT system
components such as actuators.
Not all technological advances will benefit the security of IIoT systems. Some, such as quantum
computing, may reduce the viability of some cryptographic techniques while others may still be
useable [UWAT-QC]. Thus, algorithm agility is appropriate in IIoT systems, including the ability to
update algorithms in hardware securely.
Computing done at the network edge or perimeter areas is sometimes referred to as fog
computing. 1 In fog computing, more processing is done at the network edge before being moved
to the core network and the optional cloud repository. With the potential for billions of IoT
devices creating data, it becomes challenging to move all of it at adequate speed through the
network—this creates a data management issue at the edge of the network that must be
addressed. The fog may become a viable deployment method to address these issues for IIoT.
New consortia are in the early stages of defining reference architecture for fog. Once their
reference architecture becomes better defined, the aspects of fog can be applied to IIoT security.
Similarly, management paradigms, especially for brownfield deployments will gain in capability
with microservices. A microservice is an element that results from the architectural
decomposition of an application’s components into loosely coupled patterns consisting of selfcontained services that communicate with each other using a standard communications protocol
and a set of well-defined APIs, independent of any vendor, product or technology.
Industrial microservices are small autonomous software components that work to manage a
particular aspect of a physical asset. Although the physical asset remains the same for years, the
microservices used to manage them can be easily upgraded. There are many types of industrial
internet microservices such as data microservices, common microservices, intelligent cities
microservices and others.
Blockchain is a permission-less distributed database often used as a public ledger with integrity
assurance. It maintains a continuously growing list of data records hardened against tampering
and revision. Each block includes the hash of the prior block, linking the blocks together.
Blocks are in turn defined as small sets of transactions that have taken place within the system.
Each new block includes a hash of the previous transaction, which “chains” it to all previous
blocks. Blocks are computationally difficult to create, taking multiple specialized processors and
significant amounts of time to generate.
In some IIoT systems creating a tamper-proof log of transactions or other information may have
value. The blockchain technology could possibly support this as well as enabling multiple secure
records of broadcast updates. Supply chain management is a key area where blockchains could
be leveraged in the IIoT environment. Some of the advantages of blockchains are the ability for
independent nodes to converge on a consensus of the latest version of a large data set such as a
ledger. This provides consistency, validity of transactions and automated conflict resolution.

1

See [OpenFog-Res]

IIC:PUB:G4:V1.0:PB:20160926

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