CWI Cryptology Group

Abstract: Internet of Things (IoT) commonly refers to the upcoming network society where all connectable devices will be directly connected to the Internet, and able to communicate with one another. Since many IoT devices are likely to be resource constrained and battery powered, they are particularly vulnerable to Denial of Service (DoS) attacks specifically aimed at quickly draining battery energy, and severely reducing device lifetime. In order to address this issue, we have designed SMACK, a security extension for the Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP), that efficiently identifies invalid messages upon their reception by early checking a short Message Authentication Code (MAC). Thanks to SMACK, it is possible to avoid further useless processing of invalid messages, hence reducing the impact of DoS attacks, and preserving device battery life. SMACK is compliant with CoAP specification, does not alter the original message format, and can easily work together with additional reaction mechanisms against DoS attacks.
Bio: Marco Tiloca received his Bachelor's Degree and Master's Degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy, in 2006 and 2009, respectively. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the "Department of Information Engineering" of the University of Pisa, in 2013. Currently, he is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Swedish ICT SICS in Stockholm, Sweden, under the ERCIM/Marie Curie Fellowship Programme. His research interests are in the field of network security with particular reference to constrained devices, and include key management and secure group communication. Currently, he is working on security in the Internet of Things.