Open Source Embedded Software Development and Security Blog

Embedded World Highlights: Build it faster & with stronger security

Embedded World Highlights: Build it faster & with stronger security

Security is becoming a critical differentiator in embedded system products across a wide range of applications.

And the tools are now available to ensure products can be more secure without sacrificing time-to-market and, in some cases, even accelerating development.

Those are key takeaways from this year’s Embedded World Exhibition and Conference that took place in Germany last week.
 

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Who is attacking IoT? What do they want?

Who is attacking IoT? What do they want?

The motivation of hackers sometimes can be plain as day. Other times, not so much.

As attacks on Internet of Things (IoT) devices and deployments escalate, it is important to understand what these attackers are trying to accomplish. Understanding these motives, after all, can help us to pinpoint why a security vulnerability represents a risk, to prioritize mitigation and defenses, and to focus responses to attacks.

This analysis is especially important if you provide products and platforms to companies deploying IoT …
 

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Can products be developed quickly and be secure at the same time?

Can products be developed quickly and be secure at the same time?

It’s perhaps the longest standing myth in IT:

You can deploy IT quickly, or you can deploy it securely. But you can’t do both.

This supposed trade-off touches virtually every aspect of IT, from product development, to market release, to customer deployment, production product maintenance, and all associated stages.

Of course, like many myths, there is a bit of truth to the trade-off. Viewed in the extreme, you could spend
 

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What’s with the new focus on ‘Security by Design’?

What’s with the new focus on ‘Security by Design’?

As the flood of vulnerabilities continues to rise and with the new National Cybersecurity Strategy announced in the US, attention is turning to how embedded system products can be made more secure.

Almost 20 years ago, the concept of security by design was a popular new trend in software development. The focus on baking in security at product design stages was driven by the massive rise in on-line applications, e-commerce features and other Internet-connected, web-enabled software.

As these systems and applications were deployed and became widespread, the expanding attack surface made
 

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Will more embedded device makers fix security before massive fines force them to do it?

Will more embedded device makers fix security before massive fines force them to do it?

Security of smart devices is getting worse, says a penetration testing expert, who blames suppliers of connected devices that ignore security and privacy issue notifications.

Is the answer more security regulations and laws, or is it better product strategy?

Computer Weekly reported this week on security expert Ken Munro’s comments in a conference presentation …
 

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Patch management for better embedded system security

Patch management for better embedded system security

Patch management remains a major headache for enterprises, according to researchers and security experts. With reported security vulnerabilities now climbing into the tens of thousands each year, busy IT departments struggle to identify and analyze the vulnerabilities that apply to their systems, and to manage all the patching needed to mitigate risks.

And the Internet of Things (IoT) poses even greater challenges for patch management.

“While IoT holds great promise for the future of analytics and automation, it also ushers in a new era of patch
 

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