The invisible threat: Why industrial IoT security needs a PKI
The invisible threat: Why industrial IoT security needs a PKI
The invisible threat: Why industrial IoT security needs a PKI
What risks arise from inadequate IoT security?
In industrial applications such as factories and production facilities, IoT devices play a central role in monitoring, controlling and optimizing processes. The impact of critical infrastructures and cyberattacks on IoT devices is particularly serious. Unauthorized intrusion or manipulation of IoT devices can not only lead to data loss and financial damage, but also endanger the safety of employees.
What is a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) in detail?
A Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is a system that consists of both software and hardware and offers the possibility of generating, distributing and verifying digital certificates. In other words, a PKI describes the organizational and technical infrastructure for managing digital certificates over their entire lifespan in order to ensure their security and trustworthiness. A PKI is of enormous importance for a modern information and knowledge society and supports the establishment of centralized trust services and modern key management.
What are the most important components and elements of a PKI?
A Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is a complex system that requires various components to function effectively. These include digital certificates, certification authorities (CAs), subordinate registration authorities, directory services for certificates, certificate revocation lists, validation services and many more.
How does a PKI work?
To establish the connection between the public key and the identity of a subscriber, the subscriber applies for a digital certificate from a certification authority (CA). The application contains information on the identity of the subscriber and their public key.
The certification authority (CA) then verifies the identity of the applicant using secure authentication methods before issuing the certificate. Once the identity has been successfully verified, the certification authority signs the certificate with its private key. This confirms the authenticity of the certificate and enables other participants to verify the certificate using the certification authority's public key.
The signed certificate is sent to the subscriber and can be used by them in their area of application. The certificate contains the subscriber's public key and information about the certification authority that issued the certificate.
If a subscriber wishes to establish communication with another subscriber, they check the certificate of the communication partner. To do this, they use the public key of the issuing certification authority to verify the signature of the certificate and confirm the identity of the communication partner. Once the identities have been confirmed, the participants can exchange encrypted messages using the public keys to ensure confidentiality. In addition, digital signatures can be used to ensure the integrity of the transmitted data and confirm the authenticity of the sender.
What advantages and added value does a PKI offer?
Authentication
A PKI enables secure authentication of users, devices and organizations. By using digital certificates, identities can be verified and the authenticity of a device can be ensured.
Confidentiality
Data is securely encrypted using a PKI. Data can be encrypted by exchanging public keys. Only authorized devices and persons have access to decrypt and view the data. In this way, data and information remain confidential.
Integrity
With the help of digital signatures, the PKI ensures that data cannot be changed unnoticed during transmission or storage. A digital signature created with a private key can be verified with the corresponding public key to ensure data integrity.
Scalability
A PKI can be easily scaled to support a large number of users, devices and organizations. It enables the efficient management and provision of certificates in complex networks and environments.