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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 56340

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Young-Gab Kim

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Department of Computer and Security, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea
Interests: Internet of Things (IoT); security; AI-based video security
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Internet of Things (IoT) is an environment in which things are connected to each other via the Internet and has been adopted as a promising technology by many companies such as Gartner, Cisco,and International Data Corporation (IDC). Consequently, global companies have been researching and developing IoT‐related services, technoligies and devices. However, it is difficult for all IoT thing manufacturers to develop common functions such as communication, data management, security, etc. For exmaple, IoT platforms (e.g., oneM2M, Oliot, IBM Watson IoT, IoTivity, FIWARE etc.) are developed with individual security goals, policies, and architectures, which have their own attack surfaces and vulnerabilities. That is, they do not consider the interoperability issues among them.

This special issue aims to identify the emerged challenges in all IoT-related areas. Moreover, it will provide the up-to-date state-of-the-art for the aspects of IoT.

Topics of primary interest include but are not limited to:

Emergent technologies for IoT
Cloud infrastructure for IoT
Machine learning for IoT
Testbeds for IoT
Interoperability in data, service, and security
Standardization for IoT
Security and privacy for IoT
Case studies experience reports on IoT

Prof. Young-Gab Kim
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Internet of Things (IoT)
IoT Platform
IoT Architecture
Security & Privacy
Interoperability
Testbed
Machine learning
Cloud
Standardization
…

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 444 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Framework of 6G Self-Evolving Networks and the Decision-Making Scheme for Massive IoT

by Bei Liu, Jie Luo and Xin Su

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(19), 9353; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11199353 - 08 Oct 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2197

Abstract

The increasingly huge amount of device connections will transform the Internet of Things (IoT) into the massive IoT. The use cases of massive IoT consist of the smart city, digital agriculture, smart traffic, etc., in which the service requirements are different and even constantly changing. To fulfill the different requirements, the networks must be able to automatically adjust the network configuration, architectures, resource allocations, and other network parameters according to the different scenarios to match the different service requirements in massive IoT, which are beyond the abilities of the fifth generation (5G) networks. Moreover, the sixth generation (6G) networks are expected to have endogenous intelligence, which can well support the massive IoT application scenarios. In this paper, we first propose the framework of the 6G self-evolving networks, in which the autonomous decision-making is one of the vital parts. Then, we introduce the autonomous decision-making methods and analyze the characteristics of the different methods and mechanisms for 6G networks. To prove the effectiveness of the proposed framework, we consider one of the typical scenarios of massive IoT and propose an artificial intelligence (AI)-based distributed decision-making algorithm to solve the problem of the offloading policy and the network resource allocation. Simulation results show that the proposed decision-making algorithm with the self-evolving networks can improve the quality of experience (QoE) compared with the lower training. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internet of Things (IoT))

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28 pages, 4661 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cybersecurity Model Based on Hardening for Secure Internet of Things Implementation

by Aarón Echeverría, Cristhian Cevallos, Ivan Ortiz-Garces and Roberto O. Andrade

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 3260; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11073260 - 06 Apr 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5662

Abstract

The inclusion of Internet of Things (IoT) for building smart cities, smart health, smart grids, and other smart concepts has driven data-driven decision making by managers and automation in each domain. However, the hyper-connectivity generated by IoT networks coupled with limited default security in IoT devices increases security risks that can jeopardize the operations of cities, hospitals, and organizations. Strengthening the security aspects of IoT devices prior to their use in different systems can contribute to minimize the attack surface. This study aimed to model a sequence of seven steps to minimize the attack surface by executing hardening processes. Conducted a systematic literature review using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) techniques. In this way, we were able to define a proposed methodology to evaluate the security level of an IoT solution by means of a checklist that considers the security aspects in the three layers of the IoT architecture. A risk matrix adapted to IoT is established to evaluate the attack surface. Finally, a process of hardening and vulnerability analysis is proposed to reduce the attack surface and improve the security level of the IoT solution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internet of Things (IoT))

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27 pages, 18973 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Secure and Efficient Authentication Scheme in IoT Environments

by Abhijeet Thakare and Young-Gab Kim

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(3), 1260; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11031260 - 29 Jan 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3091

Abstract

Optimization of resource consumption and decreasing the response time of authentication requests is an immense urgent requirement for supporting the scalability of resources in IoT environments. The existing research attempts to design lightweight authentication protocols to address these issues. However, the schemes proposed in the literature are lacking in the creation of a lightweight (i.e., low computing, communication, and storage cost) and secure architecture. IoT devices in existing approaches consume high electricity and computing power, despite the fact that IoT devices have limited power and computing capabilities. Furthermore, the existing approaches lead to an increase in the burden on storage memory and also create heavy traffic on a communication channel, increasing the response time of device authentication requests. To overcome these limitations, we propose a novel lightweight and secure architecture that uses crypto-modules, which optimize the usage of one-way hash functions, elliptic-curve cryptography, and an exclusive-or operation. We demonstrate the proposed scheme’s security strength using informal security analysis and verified it by considering the widely used automated validation of internet security protocol application (AVISPA) and the ProVerif tool. The result shows that the proposed scheme is effective against active and passive security attacks and satisfies secure design. Moreover, we calculate the proposed scheme’s working cost by implementing it using a widely accepted standard pairing-based cryptography (PBC) library on embedded devices. The implementation proves that the proposed scheme is lightweight and reduces computation time by 0.933 ms, communication cost by 1408 bits, and storage cost by 384 bits, and removes the existing gaps. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internet of Things (IoT))

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31 pages, 4032 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Intelligent Total Transportation Management System for Future Smart Cities

by Dinh Dung Nguyen, József Rohács, Dániel Rohács and Anita Boros

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(24), 8933; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10248933 - 14 Dec 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4889

Abstract

Smart mobility and transportation, in general, are significant elements of smart cities, which account for more than 25% of the total energy consumption related to smart cities. Smart transportation has seven essential sections: leisure, private, public, business, freight, product distribution, and special transport. From the management point of view, transportation can be classified as passive or non-cooperating, semi-active or simple cooperating, active or cooperating, contract-based, and priority transportation. This approach can be applied to public transport and even to passengers of public transport. The transportation system can be widely observed, analyzed, and managed using an extensive distribution network of sensors and actuators integrated into an Internet of Things (IoT) system. The paper briefly discusses the benefits that the IoT can offer for smart city transportation management. It deals with the use of a hierarchical approach to total transportation management, namely, defines the concept, methodology, and required sub-model developments, which describes the total system optimization problems; gives the possible system and methodology of the total transportation management; and demonstrates the required sub-model developments by examples of car-following models, formation motion, obstacle avoidances, and the total management system implementation. It also introduces a preliminary evaluation of the proposed concept relative to the existing systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internet of Things (IoT))

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17 pages, 2167 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evolution and Testing of NB-IoT Solutions

by Almudena Díaz Zayas, Francisco Javier Rivas Tocado and Pilar Rodríguez

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(21), 7903; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10217903 - 07 Nov 2020

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4510

Abstract

NB-IoT is the first 3GPP technology that has been specifically developed for IoT. In this paper, we will introduce the most important NB-IoT features included in Release 14, Release 15, and Release 16 and the need for testing of NB-IoT solutions. This paper is focused on demonstrating the potential of the new experimentation features included into the TRIANGLE testbed to support testing and benchmarking of Narrowband Internet of Thing (NB-IoT) solutions. TRIANGLE provides an experimentation framework that offers a high level of abstraction using a framework that allows for defining and executing experiments in a very straightforward way. The experimentation framework developed as part of the TRIANGLE project optionally keeps experimenters far from the low level configuration of the infrastructure and provides scenarios which reproduce realistic conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internet of Things (IoT))

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16 pages, 5166 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Implementation of a Sensor Big Data Processing System for Autonomous Vehicles in the C-ITS Environment

by Aelee Yoo, Sooyeon Shin, Junwon Lee and Changjoo Moon

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(21), 7858; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10217858 - 05 Nov 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 8847

Abstract

To provide a service that guarantees driver comfort and safety, a platform utilizing connected car big data is required. This study first aims to design and develop such a platform to improve the function of providing vehicle and road condition information of the previously defined central Local Dynamic Map (LDM). Our platform extends the range of connected car big data collection from OBU (On Board Unit) and CAN to camera, LiDAR, and GPS sensors. By using data of vehicles being driven, the range of roads available for analysis can be expanded, and the road condition determination method can be diversified. Herein, the system was designed and implemented based on the Hadoop ecosystem, i.e., Hadoop, Spark, and Kafka, to collect and store connected car big data. We propose a direction of the cooperative intelligent transport system (C-ITS) development by showing a plan to utilize the platform in the C-ITS environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internet of Things (IoT))

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19 pages, 1695 KiB

Open AccessArticle

QoSComm: A Data Flow Allocation Strategy among SDN-Based Data Centers for IoT Big Data Analytics

by Jose E. Lozano-Rizk, Juan I. Nieto-Hipolito, Raul Rivera-Rodriguez, Maria A. Cosio-Leon, Mabel Vazquez-Briseño and Juan C. Chimal-Eguia

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(21), 7586; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10217586 - 28 Oct 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2363

Abstract

When Internet of Things (IoT) big data analytics (BDA) require to transfer data streams among software defined network (SDN)-based distributed data centers, the data flow forwarding in the communication network is typically done by an SDN controller using a traditional shortest path algorithm or just considering bandwidth requirements by the applications. In BDA, this scheme could affect their performance resulting in a longer job completion time because additional metrics were not considered, such as end-to-end delay, jitter, and packet loss rate in the data transfer path. These metrics are quality of service (QoS) parameters in the communication network. This research proposes a solution called QoSComm, an SDN strategy to allocate QoS-based data flows for BDA running across distributed data centers to minimize their job completion time. QoSComm operates in two phases: (i) based on the current communication network conditions, it calculates the feasible paths for each data center using a multi-objective optimization method; (ii) it distributes the resultant paths among data centers configuring their openflow Switches (OFS) dynamically. Simulation results show that QoSComm can improve BDA job completion time by an average of 18%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internet of Things (IoT))

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22 pages, 1253 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Blockchain-Based OCF Firmware Update for IoT Devices

by Elizabeth Nathania Witanto, Yustus Eko Oktian, Sang-Gon Lee and Jin-Heung Lee

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(19), 6744; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10196744 - 26 Sep 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3644

Abstract

As the usage growth rate of Internet of Things (IoT) devices is increasing, various issues related to these devices need attention. One of them is the distribution of the IoT firmware update. The IoT devices’ software development does not end when the manufacturer sells the devices to the market. It still needs to be kept updated to prevent cyber-attacks. The commonly used firmware update process, over-the-air (OTA), mostly happens in a centralized way, in which the IoT devices directly download the firmware update from the manufacturer’s server. This central architecture makes the manufacturer’s server vulnerable to single-point-of-failure and latency issues that can delay critical patches from being applied to vulnerable devices. The Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) is one organization contributing to providing interoperability services for IoT devices. In one of their subject areas, they provide a firmware update protocol for IoT devices. However, their firmware update process does not ensure the integrity and security of the patches. In this paper, we propose a blockchain-based OCF firmware update for IoT devices. Specifically, we introduce two types of firmware update protocol, direct and peer-to-peer updates, integrated into OCF firmware update specifications. In the direct scenario, the device, through the IoT gateway, can download the new firmware update from the manufacturer’s server. Meanwhile, in the peer-to-peer scheme, the device can query the update from the nearby gateways. We implemented our protocol using Raspberry Pi hardware and Ethereum-based blockchain with the smart contracts to record metadata of the manufacturer’s firmware updates. We evaluated the proposed system’s performance by measuring the average throughput, the latency, and the firmware update distribution’s duration. The analysis results indicate that our proposal can deliver firmware updates in a reasonable duration, with the peer-to-peer version having a faster completion time than the direct one. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internet of Things (IoT))

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23 pages, 8166 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Smart Parking Solution Architecture Based on LoRaWAN and Kubernetes

by Jhonattan J. Barriga, Juan Sulca, José León, Alejandro Ulloa, Diego Portero, José García and Sang Guun Yoo

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(13), 4674; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10134674 - 07 Jul 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 5217

Abstract

Finding a parking space in a city is one of the most common activities of a driver. This becomes more difficult when the city is unknown or has huge vehicular congestion. A solution to address this issue is called smart parking. Smart parking solutions rely on Internet of Things (IoT) and several technologies to achieve their purpose. This paper proposes an architecture for deploying a smart parking solution based on Long-Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) sensors, LoRaWAN and a cluster of Kubernetes. This approach provides an open architecture able to share information with other parties through a REST API interface. Likewise, it contains a mobile and a web application for user interaction. This solution provides an administration interface for managing parking lots. The user interface lets a user to find, view information, display available spaces and rate a parking lot in real time. This solution could be used as an application as service parking system. The proposed architecture is fully portable and scalable due to the use of Kubernetes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internet of Things (IoT))

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17 pages, 3030 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Security Architecture for Cloud-Based Command and Control System in IoT Environment

by Jahoon Koo, Se-Ra Oh, Sang Hoon Lee and Young-Gab Kim

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(3), 1035; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10031035 - 04 Feb 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5468

Abstract

With the development of the fourth industrial technology, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing, developed countries including the U.S. are investigating the efficiency of national defense, the public sector and national innovation, and constructing the infrastructure for cloud computing environments through related policies. The Republic of Korea is enacting the related legislation and considering the fourth industrial technology in various fields. Particularly, it is considering the adaptation of the cloud to the command and control system in the national defense sector; hence, related research and pilot projects are being conducted. However, if the existing information system is converted to a cloud computing system by introducing IoT devices, existing security requirements cannot solve problems related to the security vulnerabilities of cloud computing. Therefore, to build a cloud-based secure command and control system, it is necessary to derive additional cloud computing-related security requirements that are lacking in the existing security requirements, and to build a secure national defense command and control system architecture based upon it. In this paper, we derive security requirements for a cloud-based command control system, propose a security architecture designed based thereupon, and implement a security architecture with an open-stack-based cloud platform, “OpenStack”. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internet of Things (IoT))

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12 pages, 2204 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An IoT-Based Glucose Monitoring Algorithm to Prevent Diabetes Complications

by Francisco Valenzuela, Armando García, Erica Ruiz., Mabel Vázquez, Joaquín Cortez and Adolfo Espinoza

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(3), 921; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10030921 - 31 Jan 2020

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 5117

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder characterized by blood glucose levels above normal limits. The impact of this disease on the population has increased in recent years. It is already a public health problem worldwide and one of the leading causes of death. Recently, several proposals have been developed for better and regular monitoring of glucose. However, theses proposals do not discard erroneous readings and they are not able to anticipate a critical condition. In this work, we propose an algorithm based on the double moving average supported by an IoT architecture to prevent possible complications in elderly patients. The algorithm uses historical readings to construct a series. Given a number of periods, it is possible to calculate averages of different subsets and trends for the next periods and, in this way, the prognosis is obtained. With the prognosis, it is possible to notify the doctor and relatives in advance about a possible critical condition in the patient. The aim of our work is to validate the architecture and prognosis algorithm used for elderly persons. Tests of the algorithm and the architecture were performed with different readings and it was shown that the system generated corresponding notifications before the glucose values were higher than those defined by the WHO (World Health Organization), thus avoiding unnecessary alarms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internet of Things (IoT))

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28 pages, 2541 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hierarchically Authorized Transactions for Massive Internet-of-Things Data Sharing Based on Multilayer Blockchain

by Shichang Xuan, Yibo Zhang, Hao Tang, Ilyong Chung, Wei Wang and Wu Yang

Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(23), 5159; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app9235159 - 28 Nov 2019

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3190

Abstract

With the arrival of the Internet of Things (IoT) era and the rise of Big Data, cloud computing, and similar technologies, data resources are becoming increasingly valuable. Organizations and users can perform all kinds of processing and analysis on the basis of massive IoT data, thus adding to their value. However, this is based on data-sharing transactions, and most existing work focuses on one aspect of data transactions, such as convenience, privacy protection, and auditing. In this paper, a data-sharing-transaction application based on blockchain technology is proposed, which comprehensively considers various types of performance, provides an efficient consistency mechanism, improves transaction verification, realizes high-performance concurrency, and has tamperproof functions. Experiments were designed to analyze the functions and storage of the proposed system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internet of Things (IoT))

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