Cyber Security of the Internet of Things

96f5b94c-2f0d-4a1e-b91b-906706cfc086

Closed

EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC

£22,799,200

Feb. 29, 2016

Aug. 31, 2019

Today we use many objects not normally associated with computers or the internet. These include gas meters and lights in our homes, healthcare devices, water distribution systems and cars. Increasingly, such objects are digitally connected and some are transitioning from cellular network connections (M2M) to using the internet: e.g. smart meters and cars - ultimately self-driving cars may revolutionise transport. This trend is driven by numerous forces. The connection of objects and use of their data can cut costs (e.g. allowing remote control of processes) creates new business opportunities (e.g. tailored consumer offerings), and can lead to new services (e.g. keeping older people safe in their homes).

This vision of interconnected physical objects is commonly referred to as the Internet of Things. The examples above not only illustrate the vast potential of such technology for economic and societal benefit, they also hint that such a vision comes with serious challenges and threats. For example, information from a smart meter can be used to infer when people are at home, and an autonomous car must make quick decisions of moral dimensions when faced with a child running across on a busy road. This means the Internet of Things needs to evolve in a trustworthy manner that individuals can understand and be comfortable with. It also suggests that the Internet of Things needs to be resilient against active attacks from organised crime, terror organisations or state-sponsored aggressors.

Therefore, this project creates a Hub for research, development, and translation for the Internet of Things, focussing on privacy, ethics, trust, reliability, acceptability, and security/safety: PETRAS, (also suggesting rock-solid foundations) for the Internet of Things. The Hub will be designed and run as a 'social and technological platform'. It will bring together UK academic institutions that are recognised international research leaders in this area, with users and partners from various industrial sectors, government agencies, and NGOs such as charities, to get a thorough understanding of these issues in terms of the potentially conflicting interests of private individuals, companies, and political institutions; and to become a world-leading centre for research, development, and innovation in this problem space.

Central to the Hub approach is the flexibility during the research programme to create projects that explore issues through impactful co-design with technical and social science experts and stakeholders, and to engage more widely with centres of excellence in the UK and overseas. Research themes will cut across all projects: Privacy and Trust; Safety and Security; Adoption and Acceptability; Standards, Governance, and Policy; and Harnessing Economic Value. Properly understanding the interaction of these themes is vital, and a great social, moral, and economic responsibility of the Hub in influencing tomorrow's Internet of Things. For example, a secure system that does not adequately respect privacy, or where there is the mere hint of such inadequacy, is unlikely to prove acceptable. Demonstrators, like wearable sensors in health care, will be used to explore and evaluate these research themes and their tension. New solutions are expected to come out of the majority of projects and demonstrators, many solutions will be generalisable to problems in other sectors, and all projects will produce valuable insights. A robust governance and management structure will ensure good management of the research portfolio, excellent user engagement and focussed coordination of impact from deliverables.

The Hub will further draw on the expertise, networks, and on-going projects of its members to create a cross-disciplinary language for sharing problems and solutions across research domains, industrial sectors, and government departments. This common language will enhance the outreach, development, and training activities of the Hub.

Potential Impact:
Privacy, Ethics, Trust, Reliability, Acceptability, and Security in the Internet of Things, ("PETRAS"), concerns us all. Being able to understand, control, and exploit their interaction in this space will have huge societal, economic, and third sector impact - let us mention personalised healthcare, better transport experience, more effective energy and water supply, more robust facility and supply chain management, new economic mechanisms for data sharing, and trust relationships of particular interest to the third sector.

The Hub's strategic focus is on co-designing solutions in this socio-technological space that are acceptable to their users and that judiciously, if not optimally, trade off conflicting considerations such as security and cost-effectiveness. The Hub will create and provide an environment in which researchers, users, and partners from multiple sectors can bring together expertise, experiences and experimental environments to engage in such co-design. This approach has impact and effective value generation at its core: the Hub has already secured pledges of considerable funding from partners who provide this support for research with impactful outputs; also, the Hub's overall strategy, governance structure, and operational oversight are designed to nurture and evaluate impact and productivity -generating activities - as reflected, for example, in the criteria for internal project selection in the initial and future internal calls.

One large environment for impact creation will be The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Within it, the "Smart in the Park" initiative - led by UCL and partnered with The Mayor of London's Smart London Board - has provided full and open research access to the study of PETRAS aspects of the entire site infrastructure: from waste and water through to energy, lighting, smart homes, future retail, and the logistical complexity of 9.5 million annual visitors across the 257 acres site. The pathways from this research to impact are 6-monthly "Smart in the Park Events", and IoT Weekenders linked to the Future Cities Catapult and the Digital Economy Catapult to showcase research. Additionally, workshop space for PETRAS R&D will be provided to SMEs, think tanks, and innovation incubators within a planned long-term IoT showcase called "The Heart of the Park". All this will be enhanced by facilities that engage citizens with PETRAS and the Internet of Things, such as controlling park lighting via the Internet of Things. We will have similar impact activities for other demonstrators such as the Smart Streets in Lancaster, Wearable Devices in Healthcare in London, the Smart Campus in Surrey, and the Edinburgh Festival.

The Hub will have two full-time Impact Champions serving in key management roles of the Hub; they will ensure that our approach to impact will be agile to allow the Hub to learn from seed projects, and will be inclusive to support an innovative environment in which also disruptive research and development can flourish. Through its linked, nationwide network of experimental environments, exhibition spaces and showcases the Hub will foster impact generation through co-innovation such that outputs have global reach and will help to secure the UK as a world-leader in PETRAS research in the Internet of Things.

PETRAS aspects of the Internet of Things are clearly visible to the general public, policymakers, and decision makers. Therefore, the Hub will maintain and lead a dialogue with those groups and others regarding the importance of PETRAS aspects in our future lives. This is aimed to be high profile, aided by a professional media campaign engaging with the full spectrum of today's media. The Hub will also tap into existing outreach channels such as a Hub website, UK Museums, Academies and Professional Societies. The aim is for the Hub to become an authoritative global voice of PETRAS/IoT aspects, and to create brand value for its long-term, sustainable and impactful future