Zymbit wants to accelerate IoT development

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Get your real-world Internet of Things ideas to market in days, not months. 

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As the next frontier of the Internet approaches, the IoT represents a compelling opportunity across a staggering array of applications. That’s why the team behind Zymbit has developed an end-to-end platform of hardware and software devices that will enable Makers, engineers and developers alike to transform their ideas into real-world products in blistering speed.

In an effort to deliver secure, open and interactive gadgets for our constantly-connected era, Zymbit is hoping that latest set of solutions will help accelerate adoption and interface with our physical world in a more secure, authenticated manner. The company — who we had the chance to meet at CES 2015 and will be on display in our Maker Faire booth — recently unveiled its Zymbit 1 (Z1), which is being billed as the first fully-integrated piece of IoT hardware that provide users with local and remote live data interaction, along with a low-power MCU, battery-backed operation.

“Z1’s motherboards incorporate some of the latest secure silicon from Atmel, providing accelerated processing of standard open security algorithms. A separate supervisor MPU takes care of security, while you take care of your application,” explained Zymbit CTO Alex Kaay.

Based on the Atmel | SMART SAM D21, the Z1 motherboard is electronically robust with enhanced security provided via an ATECC108 crypto engine and an ATWINC1500 Wi-Fi controller — meaning, no additional parts are necessary. Ideal for those developing next-gen IoT projects, the modular board is super customizable and compatible with Atmel Xplained Pro wingboards, Arduino shields, Raspberry Pi B+, as well as ZigBee, cellular and POE options. The Zymbit team has even implemented discretely controlled blocks to simplify coding and to secure remote device management, while advanced power management supports battery, solar and POE operations.

The Z1 integrates all of the key components required to support a generation of global IoT applications. This includes easily transitioning between Arduino, Atmel and Raspberry Pi designs, integrated open software tools for seamless innovation, as well as a choice of wireless communication. For instance, Makers can design and implement their programs using the Zymbit’s Arduino Zero app processor and take advantage of a vast number of Arduino shields. Or, developers can connect their Raspberry Pi to utilize the various Zymbit services via SPI bus, allowing their B+ module to interact with a wide-range of “things.”

The unique Zymbit architecture delivers three key pillars of security: authenticated data source with 72-bit ID serial number, protected data transmission with SHA 256 and private data transmission via a Wi-Fi embedded AES engine. This is accomplished through a dedicated hardware crypto engine that ensures only trusted data is exchanged between devices.

At the heart of Z1’s operation lies a network/Linux CPU, the Atmel | SMART SAMA5D4 MPU, tasked with its secure communication. Meanwhile, its security processes run within a supervisory, ultra low-power Atmel | SMART SAM L21 MCU, separately from its SAM D21 Cortex-M0+ I/O application MCU. This hardware is all housed inside a dynamically-constructed case, which features standard expansions and mounts perfect for any consumer, commercial or industrial applicable IoT product.

Adding to its already impressive list of capabilities, Zymbit comes with a remote manager that makes it easy to connect and manage gizmos both securely and with transparency. This service enables users to SSH to their devices, whether they are on your desk or across the country. Publishing through Zymbit’s Pub/Sub Engine lets developers collect and share data one-to-one or one-to-many, with or without subscriber authentication. As you can imagine, this opens up an assortment of project possibilities, which range from changing Philips Hue color lighting with data streams to monitoring key parameters of a refrigeration system.

“We are providing some standard dashboard widgets that allow you to quickly view your device performance metrics and data-channels. Initially we are supporting time series charting, together with plugin metrics for Raspberry Pi, and Arduino Yún,” the team writes.

Interested in learning more? You can stay up-to-date with the Zymbit team’s progress here, watch our latest interview with one of the company’s co-founders below, and swing by our booth at Maker Faire Bay Area!

10 (+1) invaluable steps to launching your next IoT product

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Let’s transition your products from a ‘dumb’ to ‘smart’ thing.

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Many enterprises, startups and organizations have already been exposed to the innovation land grab stemming from the rapidly evolving Internet of Things (IoT). What’s available in the product/market fit arena? This is the hunt to cease some segment of the multi-trillion dollar growth reported to gain from the IoT, enabling embedded system connectivity coupled with the ecosystem value-add of a product or service. Even for that matter, transforming a mere idea that centers around connectivity solutions can present an array of challenges, particularly when one seeks to bring to market disruptive ways for the end-user to adopt from the more traditional way of doing things (e.g. GoPro, PebbleWatch, FitBit, and even to as far as e-health monitors, tire subscriptions, self-driving vehicles, smart bracelets, connected medical apparatus or Industrial Internet devices, home automation systems and more).

All together, there’s one overlaying theme to these Internet-enabled products. They are all pervasively SMART technologies that help monetize the IoT. Now, let’s get your products to transition from a once ordinary, mundane object to a much smarter, more secure “thing.” When doing so, this too can often present a few obstacles for designers, especially as it requires a unique set of skills needed to interface systems with connectivity to the cloud or Internet.

To top it all off, there may already be various product lines in existence that have a mandate to leverage a connected ecosystem/design. In fact, even new ones require connectivity to the cloud, having designs set forth to enhance via customer usage then combining this user data with other associated data points. Already, the development to enable such devices require an assortment of skills. It’s an undertaking, one in which requires knowledge and expertise to command stable connectivity in the infrastructure and design a product with security, scalability, and low power.

Moving ahead, here are some recommendations developers and Makers should know:

1. Identify a need and market: The value of the smart device lies in in the service that it brings to the customer. Identify the need to develop a strong offer that brings value or enhances efficiency rather than creating a simple gadget. (See Marc Andreesen’s infamous blog on product/market fit for more tips).

2. Validate your ideation: Carry out market research. Do your due diligence. Determine whether the device you think of creating already exists. Can improvements be ascertained with testimonial as an enhanced or unique experience? Indeed, benchmarking will allow you to discover any competitors, find sources of inspiration, develop a network of ideas to pool and find other areas for improvement as well.

3. Prototype toward MVP: New device fabrication techniques, such as 3D printing, are the ideal creative validation for producing prototypes much faster and for less money. They also promote iteration, which is an integral process when designing the device towards MVP.

4. Connect the ‘thing’ then concert it into a smart ‘thing:’ Right now, there is no mandatory standard for interconnecting different devices. Selecting the right technology is essential, particularly if the device requires low-power (speaking of low-power….) and event and state controls, which highly optimize extended power and the services to enrich the information system and eventally enhance user experience with a roadmap toward an ecosystem.

5. Develop the application: Today, the primary smart devices are linked to an dedicated mobile app. Since the app transforms the smartphone into a remote control, it must be be easy to use for your end-users, and more importantly, simply upgraded via the cloud.

6. Manage the data: Fitted with a multitude of sensors, connected gadgets generate an enormous amount of data that need to be processed and stored with the utmost security across all layers even to as far as using cryptography in memory. (After all, you don’t want your design become a ‘Tales from the Crypt-O” horror story.) 

7. Analyze and exploit the data: By processing and analyzing the data, a company can extract the necessary information to deploy the right service in the right place at the right time.

8. Measure the impact of the smart device: Set up probes to monitor your devices and data traffic quality. Answer questions objectively as to how it would securely scale and evolve should there be an instant high volume success and usage. This will help you measure the impact of the smart device in real time and adapt its actions accordingly, and model into the product roadmap and MVP spec.

9. Iterate to fine-tune the device’s use: After launching the project, the process has only begun. Feedback needs to be taken into account in order to adjust and fine-tune the project. Due to its very nature, digital technology requires continuous adaptation and iteration. “Try and learn” and present riskier ideas to products are the fundamental principles behind transformation when imposing a new use.

10. Prototype again: Continuous adaptation and iteration means that your company needs to produce a new prototype.

Here’s 10 + 1 invaluable steps to launching your IoT project or product.

11. Take advantage of the hands-on training in your region.

As an application space, IoT sensor nodes are enabled by a number of fundamental technologies, namely a low-power MCU, some form of wireless communication and strong security. With this in mind, the newly revealed Atmel IoT Secure Hello World series will offer attendees hands-on training, introducing them to some of the core technologies making the Internet of Things possible, including Wi-Fi and CryptoAuthentication.

What’s more, these sessions will showcase Atmel’s diverse Wi-Fi capabilities and CryptoAuthentication hardware key storage in the context of the simplest possible use cases. This includes learning how to send temperature information to any mobile device via a wireless network and how to enable the remote control of LEDs on a SAM D21 Xplained Pro board over a Wi-Fi network using a WINC1500. In addition, attendees will explore authentication of IoT nodes, as well as how to implement a secure communications link — something that will surely come in handy when preparing to launch your next smart product.

As you can see, so far, everyone is LOVING the Hello World sessions — from hardcore embedded engineers to hobbyists. Here some recent social activity following the recent Tech on Tour events in both Manchester and Heathrow, UK. Need we say more? These tweets say a thousand words!

Connected and ready to go… all before lunch! (Yes, there’s food as well!)

 

Atmel’s Tech on Tour and proud partner EBV Elektronik proudly thankful for the successful event in Manchester, UK.

 

Atmel’s Tech on Tour just successfully completed a full house attendance training in Manchester, UK

 

BLE, WIFI, IoT, IOE, ToT, OMG! How does Big Bang Theory and IoT relate to Tech on Tour?

Find out how you too can receive in-depth IoT training. As the Atmel | Tech on Tour makes it way throughout Europe, Asia, and North America, make sure you know when the team arrives in your town!  Don’t miss it. Upon registering, you will even receive a WINC1500 Xplained Pro Starter Kit to take home.

The 10 challenges of securing IoT communications

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From the very beginning of developing an IoT product, IoT security must be a forethought.

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One of the hottest topics at last week’s IoT StreamConf was security. In other words, how are we going to secure communication for billions of connected devices? How can we ensure that attackers can’t take control of our devices, steal information, disrupt services, or take down entire networks of expensive, imperative devices?

With IoT is still in its early stages, security is not fully understood and well-defined when compared to other industries, like the financial and e-commerce sectors. From the very beginning of developing an IoT product, whether it’s small-scale like a wearable device, to massive-scale IoT deployments, like an oil field sensor network or global delivery operation, IoT security must be a forethought.

In this talk, Rohini Pandhi, Product Manager at PubNub, walks through the ten challenges of securing Internet of Things communication. Rohini discusses flexible and secure messaging design patterns for IoT communication, and how they can be implemented and scaled. There are a number of security considerations, but after watching this talk, you should have a good idea of how you can secure your IoT deployment.

(Scroll below video for a table of contents of when individual concepts are talked about in the video).

Video Table of Contents

1. Defining the Internet of Things (10:27)
2. Unprotected devices will be attacked (13:15)
3. Encryption (15:46)
4. Single security model for all communications (17:56)
5. Access control (20:13)
6. Tracking device metadata (21:14)
7. Provisioning in the field (22:38)
8. Firmware updates in the field (24:07)
9. Compliance with regulations (25:15)
10. Reinventing the wheel (26:17)

More Resources on Securing IoT Communication

Below are a couple great pieces on IoT security, and some code tutorials for IoT developers:

• The Next Generation of IoT: PubNub CEO Todd Greene walks through the evolution of the IoT stack, and how it’s continuing to change, with security at the forefront.
• Securing the Internet of Streams: Doron Sherman discusses the need for a new approach to IoT security, built on a loosely-coupled, smarter network.
• World-class embedded security solutions ensures trust for every system design: Data security is directly linked to how exposed the cryptographic key is to being accessed by unintended parties. How to thwart? Keep the “secret key secret” locked in protected hardware devices.
• IT cloud vs. IoT cloud: Kaivan Karimi, Atmel VP and GM of Wireless Solutions, shares the top 10 factors to consider when transitioning from IT cloud to IoT cloud.
• Become a Crypto Expert by securing all the layers of IoT. Securing valuable pieces to solve your security puzzle for any stage or level of the design cycle.
• Ultra-secure Hardware-based Key Storage: CryptoAuthentication installed into the architecture of element devices with hardware-based key storage ensure that a product, consumables it uses, firmware it runs, accessories that support it, and the network nodes it connects to are not cloned, counterfeited, or tampered with.
• Complete Security for PCs and Embedded Systems: The TPM includes integrated, protected nonvolatile storage for cryptographic keys, secrets, and authorization information.
• Making EEPROMs a Safe Place for Sensitive Data: CryptoMemory chips are the world’s largest family of EEPROMs with a 64-bit embedded hardware encryption engine, four sets of nonreadable, 64-bit authentication keys, and four sets of nonreadable, 64-bit session encryption keys.

Hackers can take over robotic arms performing your surgery

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Researchers are table to hijack a medical telerobot, raising questions around the security of remote surgery. 

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In a scenario that sounds straight out of a Hollywood thriller, researchers at the University of Washington have discovered a flaw in surgical robotic arms that allows them to be easily hacked. The experts were able to take control of a Raven II telerobot through a series of cyber attacks, thereby enabling them to change the speed of the arms of the robot and their orientation, making it impossible for the machines to carry out a procedure as directed.

The first successful telesurgery took place back in 2001 when a doctor in New York completed a gall bladder surgery of a patient 3,700 miles away in France, and since then, long-distance robotic surgery has taken off. Though robotic surgery has yet to become the industry standard, sales of medical robots are increasing by 20% each year. Meaning, vulnerabilities can certainly wreak havoc on operations should the proper security measures not be implemented.

In the case of Raven II, a remote operator uses two winglike arms to perform complex procedures where otherwise their hands might not be capable. While this experiment was performed in a controlled environment and not on the operating table, it’s apparent that more stringent security measures be taken. Raven II runs on a single PC, and communicates with a control console using a standard communications protocol known as Interoperable Telesurgery Protocol. But rather than take place over a secure private channel, commands are sent over public networks instead — and therein lies the potential risk.

For their study, the team performed various types of cyberattacks to see just how easily the arm could be disrupted. This included changing the commands sent by an operator, modifying signals and even completely taking over the robot. The researchers note that while their test applies only to Raven II, other surgical mechanisms that use similar teleoperation were likely also at risk.

“In hijacking attacks, a malicious entity causes the robot to completely ignore the intentions of a surgeon, and to instead perform some other, potentially harmful actions. Some possible attacks includes both temporary and permanent takeovers of the robot, and depending on the actions executed by the robot after being hijacked, these attacks can be either very discreet or very noticeable,” the team writes.

Since surgery requires the upmost precision, any minor glitch at a critical moment could prove to be deadly for a patient. Subsequently, researchers suggest a number of ways that telesurgery can be more secure, including encrypting data as it’s transferred from surgeon to robot, making the software more sensitive to errors and attempted data changes, and better monitoring of the network status before and during surgery.

“Some of these attacks could have easily been prevented by using well-established and readily-available security mechanisms, including encryption and authentication,” the researchers note.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that embedded system insecurity affects everyone, and not only can these effects of insecurity lead to sensitive financial and medical data theft, but in some cases, could even lead to greater harm or fatality. This is why CryptoAuthentication protection is so paramount. As Atmel resident security expert Bill Boldt explains, “Hardware protection beats software protection every time. That is because software is always subject to bugs, tampering and malware, just as these attacks are proving. Again and again and again.”

Want to learn more? Download the entire paper here.

4 reasons why Atmel is ready to ride the IoT wave

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The IoT recipe comprises of three key technology components: Sensing, computing and communications.

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In 2014, a Goldman Sachs’ report took many people by surprise when it picked Atmel Corporation as the company best positioned to take advantage of the rising Internet of Things (IoT) tsunami. At the same time, the report omitted tech industry giants like Apple and Google from the list of companies that could make a significant impact on the rapidly expanding IoT business. So what makes Atmel so special in the IoT arena?

The San Jose, California–based chipmaker has been proactively building its ‘SMART’ brand of 32-bit ARM-based microcontrollers that boasts an end-to-end design platform for connected devices in the IoT realm. The company with two decades of experience in the MCU business was among the first to license ARM’s low-power processors for IoT chips that target smart home, industrial automation, wearable electronics and more.

Goldman Sachs named Atmel a leader in the Internet of Things (IoT) market.

Goldman Sachs named Atmel a leader in the Internet of Things (IoT) market

A closer look at the IoT ingredients and Atmel’s product portfolio shows why Goldman Sachs called Atmel a leader in the IoT space. For starters, Atmel is among the handful of chipmakers that cover all the bases in IoT hardware value chain: MCUs, sensors and wireless connectivity.

1. A Complete IoT Recipe

The IoT recipe comprises of three key technology components: Sensing, computing and communications. Atmel offers sensor products and is a market leader in MCU-centric sensor fusion solutions than encompass context awareness, embedded vision, biometric recognition, etc.

For computation—handling tasks related to signal processing, bit manipulation, encryption, etc.—the chipmaker from Silicon Valley has been offering a diverse array of ARM-based microcontrollers for connected devices in the IoT space.

Atmel has reaffirmed its IoT commitment through a number of acquisitions.

Finally, for wireless connectivity, Atmel has cobbled a broad portfolio made up of low-power Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Zigbee radio technologies. Atmel’s $140 million acquisition of Newport Media in 2014 was a bid to accelerate the development of low-power Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips for IoT applications. Moreover, Atmel could use Newport’s product expertise in Wi-Fi communications for TV tuners to make TV an integral part of the smart home solutions.

Furthermore, communications across the Internet depends on the TCP/IP stack, which is a 32-bit protocol for transmitting packets on the Internet. Atmel’s microcontrollers are based on 32-bit ARM cores and are well suited for TCP/IP-centric Internet communications fabric.

2. Low Power Leadership

In February 2014, Atmel announced the entry-level ARM Cortex M0+-based microcontrollers for the IoT market. The SAM D series of low-power MCUs—comprising of D21, D10 and D11 versions—featured Atmel’s signature high-end features like peripheral touch controller, USB interface and SERCOM module. The connected peripherals work flawlessly with Cortex M0+ CPU through the Event System that allows system developers to chain events in software and use an event to trigger a peripheral without CPU involvement.

According to Andreas Eieland, Director of Product Marketing for Atmel’s MCU Business Unit, the IoT design is largely about three things: Battery life, cost and ease-of-use. The SAM D microcontrollers aim to bring the ease-of-use and price-to-performance ratio to the IoT products like smartwatches where energy efficiency is crucial. Atmel’s SAM D family of microcontrollers was steadily building a case for IoT market when the company’s SAM L21 microcontroller rocked the semiconductor industry in March 2015 by claiming the leadership in low-power Cortex-M IoT design.

Atmel’s SAM L21 became the lowest power ARM Cortex-M microcontroller when it topped the EEMBC benchmark measurements. It’s plausible that another MCU maker takes over the EEMBC benchmarks in the coming months. However, according to Atmel’s Eieland, what’s important is the range of power-saving options that an MCU can bring to product developers.

“There are many avenues to go down on the low path, but they are getting complex,” Eieland added. He quoted features like multiple clock domains, event management system and sleepwalking that provide additional levels of configurability for IoT product developers. Such a set of low-power technologies that evolves in successive MCU families can provide product developers with a common platform and a control on their initiatives to lower power consumption.

3. Coping with Digital Insecurity

In the IoT environment, multiple device types communicate with each other over a multitude of wireless interfaces like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy. And IoT product developers are largely on their own when it comes to securing the system. The IoT security is a new domain with few standards and IoT product developers heavily rely on the security expertise of chip suppliers.

Atmel offers embedded security solutions for IoT designs.

Atmel, with many years of experience in crypto hardware and Trusted Platform Modules, is among the first to offer specialized security hardware for the IoT market. It has recently shipped a crypto authentication device that has integrated the Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) security protocol. Atmel’s ATECC508A chip provides confidentiality, data integrity and authentication in systems with MCUs or MPUs running encryption/decryption algorithms like AES in software.

4. Power of the Platform

The popularity of 8-bit AVR microcontrollers is a testament to the power of the platform; once you learn to work on one MCU, you can work on any of the AVR family microcontrollers. And same goes for Atmel’s Smart family of microcontrollers aimed for the IoT market. While ARM shows a similarity among its processors, Atmel exhibits the same trait in the use of its peripherals.

Low-power SAM L21 builds on features of SAM D MCUs.

A design engineer can conveniently work on Cortex-M3 and Cortex -M0+ processor after having learned the instruction set for Cortex-M4. Likewise, Atmel’s set of peripherals for low-power IoT applications complements the ARM core benefits. Atmel’s standard features like sleep modes, sleepwalking and event system are optimized for ultra-low-power use, and they can extend IoT battery lifetime from years to decades.

Atmel, a semiconductor outfit once focused on memory and standard products, began its transformation toward becoming an MCU company about eight years ago. That’s when it also started to build a broad portfolio of wireless connectivity solutions. In retrospect, those were all the right moves. Fast forward to 2015, Atmel seems ready to ride on the market wave created by the IoT technology juggernaut.

Interested? You may also want to read:

Atmel’s L21 MCU for IoT Tops Low Power Benchmark

Atmel’s New Car MCU Tips Imminent SoC Journey

Atmel’s Sensor Hub Ready to Wear

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Majeed Ahmad is author of books Smartphone: Mobile Revolution at the Crossroads of Communications, Computing and Consumer Electronics and The Next Web of 50 Billion Devices: Mobile Internet’s Past, Present and Future.

The CryptoShield is a dedicated security peripheral for the Arduino

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This shield adds specialized ICs that will allow you to implement a hardware security layer to your Arduino project.

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With the insecurity of connected devices called into question time and time again, wouldn’t it be nice to take comfort in knowing that your latest IoT gadget was secure? A facet in which many Makers may overlook, Josh Datko has made it his mission to find a better way to safeguard those designs — all without hindering the contagious and uplifting DIY spirit. You may recall his recent collaboration with SparkFun, the CrytpoCape, which debuted last year. This cape was a dedicated security daughterboard for the BeagleBone that easily added encryption and authentication options to a project.

Well now, Datko has returned with his latest and greatest innovation — the CryptoShield. Just like its cousin, the shield is a dedicated security peripheral, but for the highly-popualar Arduino platform instead. It adds specialized ICs that perform various cryptographic operations that will allow users to implement a hardware security layer to their Arduino project.

“It also is a nice device for those performing embedded security research. Needless to say this is a great product for those of you who are interested in computer security,” SparkFun notes.

Each CryptoShield is packed with a slew of hardware on-board, including a real-time clock (RTC) module to keep accurate time, a Trusted Platform Module (AT97SC3204) for RSA encryption/decryption and signing in the hardware, an AES-128 encrypted EEPROM (ATAES132), an ATSHA204 authentication chip that performs SHA-256 and HMAC-256, and an ATECC108 that handles the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA). Unlike its older cousin, though, the prototyping portion of this unit has been reduced. However, for what it may have lost, it has surely gained in other areas. For one, the CryptoShield now features an RFID socket that works best with a ID-12LA module.

“Each shield will need to have headers soldered on once you receive it. We prefer to give you the choice of soldering on stackable or non-stackable headers, whatever fits best for you project. The only other items you will need to get the CryptoCape fully functional are a dev board that supports the Arduino R3 form-factor and a CR1225 coin cell battery,” SparkFun adds.

We should also point out that, at the moment, the CryptoShield can only be shipped within the United States. And just like with the CryptoCape, a portion of every sale is given back to SparkFun’s hacker-in-residence Josh Datko for continued development of new and exciting cryptographic tools, such as this one.

Intrigued? Hurry over to SparkFun’s official page here. We’ll have more insight from Datko himself in the coming days!

Report: Organizations not doing enough to prevent data breaches

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Verizon’s annual Data Breach Investigations Report shows which threats — new and old — to watch. 

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Just the other day, Verizon released its annual Data Breach Investigations Report, which analyzed more than 2,100 confirmed data breaches and approximately 80,000 reported security incidents. This year’s study offered an in-depth look at the cybersecurity landscape, including a first-time overview of mobile security, Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and the financial impact of intrusions.

Upon delving deeper, the report revealed that though cyber attacks are getting a lot more sophisticated, decades-old tactics like phishing and hacking haven’t lost much ground either. According to Verizon, the majority of the cyber attacks (70%) used a combination of these techniques and involved a secondary victim, adding complexity to a breach.

Another troubling area singled out in the analysis is that many existing vulnerabilities remain open, primarily because security patches that have long been available were never implemented. In fact, many of those flaws go back almost eight years.

As in prior reports, this year’s findings again pointed out what Verizon researchers call the “detection deficit,” which refers to the time that elapses between a breach occurring until it’s discovered. Sadly, in 60% of breaches, attackers are able to compromise an organization within minutes. On the bright side, the study does note that a number of cyber attacks could be prevented through a more vigilant approach to security.

“We continue to see sizable gaps in how organizations defend themselves,” explained Mike Denning, VP of Global Security for Verizon Enterprise Solutions. “While there is no guarantee against being breached, organizations can greatly manage their risk by becoming more vigilant in covering their bases. This continues to be a main theme, based on more than 10 years of data from our ‘Data Breach Investigations Report’ series.”

As expected, a hot topic that was added to this year’s report centered around security issues related to the burgeoning IoT. Verizon examined several security incidents in which connected devices were used as entry points to compromise other systems, with some IoT devices were co-opted into botnets that were infected with malicious software for denial-of-service attacks. The findings on connected devices “reaffirms the need for organizations to make security a high priority when rolling out next-generation intelligent devices.”

Verizon security researchers also discovered that nearly all (96%) of the 80,000 security incidents analyzed this year can be traced to one of nine basic attack patterns that vary across industries. As identified in the 2014 report, the nine threat patterns include miscellaneous errors, malware aimed at gaining control of systems, insider/privilege misuse, physical theft or loss, web app attacks, cyber espionage, as well as point-of-sale intrusions and payment card skimmers.

This year’s report found that 83% of security incidents by industry involve the top three threat patterns — up from 76% in 2014. Needless to say, the longer it takes for organizations to discover breaches, the more time attackers have to penetrate defenses and cause damage, the report points out. More than a quarter of all breaches take an organization weeks, and sometimes months, to unearth and contain.

Want to continue reading? You can download Verizon’s entire report here. As if you needed any additional proof, it has becoming increasingly clear that embedded system insecurity affects everyone and every company. What’s worse, the effects of insecurity can be very personal like theft of sensitive financial and medical data. For a company the impact can be quite profound. Products can be cloned, software copied, systems tampered with and spied on, and many other things that can lead to revenue loss, increased liability, and diminished brand equity. Explore the SMARTER choice of embedded hardware-based security into your next design here.

The CryptoCape is the BeagleBone’s first dedicated security daughterboard

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The CryptoCape extends the hardware cryptographic abilities of the BeagleBone Black.

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With the insecurity of connected devices called into question time and time again, wouldn’t it be nice to take comfort in knowing that your latest IoT gadget was secure? A facet in which many Makers may overlook, Josh Datko recently sought out to find a better way to safeguard those designs, all without hindering the DIY spirit. The result? The CrytpoCape — which initially debuted on SparkFun last year — is a dedicated security daughterboard for the BeagleBone that easily adds encryption and authentication options to a project.

Generally speaking, cryptography offers a solution to a wide-range of problems such as authentication, confidentiality, integrity and non-repudiation, according to Datko. SparkFun notes that the $60 Atmel powered cape adds specialized ICs that perform various cryptographic operations, amplifying a critical hardware security layer to various BeagleBone projects.

The CyrptoCape is packed with hardware, including 256k EEPROM with a defaulted I2C address (plus write protection), a real-time clock (RTC) module, a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) for RSA encryption/decryption, an AES-128 encrypted EEPROM, an ATSHA204 CrypoAuthentication chip that performs SHA-256 and HMAC-25 and an Atmel ATECC108 tasked with the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA).

“You will also find an Atmel ATmega328P microcontroller and a large prototyping area available on the board. The ATmega is loaded with the Arduino Pro Mini 3.3V bootloader and has broken out most of the signals to surrounding pads,” its SparkFun page reveals.

Beyond that, each easy-to-use CryptoCape comes with pre-soldered headers making this board ready to be attached to your BeagleBone right out of the box. The only additional item a Maker will need to get the CryptoCape fully-functional is a CR1225 coin-cell battery.

Interested? You can check out the product’s official SparkFun page here. Meanwhile, those looking to learn more should also pick up a copy of Datko’s book entitled “BeagleBone for Secret Agents.” The third chapter of the resource is devoted to the CryptoCape where Makers will learn how to combine a fingerprint sensor, the on-board ATmega328P, and the crypto chips to make a biometric authentication system.

Report: 29 million patient records compromised in healthcare breaches

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In 2013, two-thirds of healthcare data breaches involved electronic data, almost 60% theft and nearly 10% hacking.

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Amid our latest bout with malicious hackers and network intrusions, even more data has emerged that will certainly put any doubts, if any remained, around the insignificance of proper security to rest — particularly in healthcare. According to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers have revealed that approximately 29 million health records in the U.S. alone were affected by breaches between 2010 and 2013 — 67% of which were stored electronically.

In order to conduct their investigation, the researchers sifted through a government database containing information about data breaches involving unencrypted health information reported by clinicians and health plans. What they found was that a majority of incidents (58%) were exposed through theft, while the rest came as a combination of hacks and carelessness, such as loss or improper disposal of data and unauthorized access of information. And, most of the time, these breaches were connected to laptops and mobile devices.

In 2013, the frequency of breaches that occurred through hacking, unauthorized access or unprivileged disclosure increased to 27%, up from 12% just three years prior. The researchers warn that this number will only continue to rise.

“Given the rapid expansion in electronic health record deployment since 2012, as well as the expected increase in cloud-based services… the frequency and scope of electronic healthcare data breaches are likely to increase,” the researchers note. “These security breaches could involve everything from health sensors and gene sequencing technology, to predictive analytics and personal health records.”

Want to delve deeper into the topic? You can find the entire report here. Meanwhile, as attack platforms increase in size and threats become more sophisticated in nature, how can you ensure that your network and its connected devices are indeed protected? Fortunately, you can take comfort in knowing that there are solutions already available to keep those digital systems not only smart, but robustly secured all at the same time.

How Big Bang Theory and IoT relate to Tech on Tour

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Hands-on ‘IoT Secure Hello World’ training introduces Atmel Wi-Fi and CrytoAuthentication technologies.

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How The Big Bang Theory Relates to the Internet of Things

How many of you out there are fans of the CBS hit sitcom series Big Bang Theory? If you recall an episode from the show’s first season, entitled “The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization,” the team of Sheldon Cooper, Leonard Hofstadter, Howard Wolowitz and Raj Koothrappali successfully triggered a lamp over the Internet using an X-10 system.

In order to accomplish this feat, the gang sent signals across the web and around the world from their apartment to connect not only their lights, but other electronics like their stereo and remote control cars as well.

“Gentlemen, I am now about to send a signal from this laptop through our local ISP racing down fiber optic cable at the of light to San Francisco bouncing off a satellite in geosynchronous orbit to Lisbon, Portugal, where the data packets will be handed off to submerged transatlantic cables terminating in Halifax, Nova Scotia and transferred across the continent via microwave relays back to our ISP and the external receiver attached to this…lamp,”  Wolowitz excitedly prefaced.

The funny thing is, the technology that the group of sitcom scientists was simulating could have just as easily been done using a Wi-Fi network controller like the WINC1500. However, at the time of airing back in March of 2008, open access for Internet users looking to control “things” around the house was seemingly something only engineers and super geeks thought possible.

We can imagine this is probably how it would’ve gone down…

Bringing Next-Generation Technology to You

In order to make the scene above possible, an Atmel | SMART SAM D21 was hooked up to the WINC1500 and connected to a solid-state relay, thereby enabling the team to control the lamp.

If this captivated your attention, then you’re in for a treat. That’s because Atmel is taking its “IoT Secure Hello World” Tech on Tour seminar on the road — starting with Europe!

As an application space, IoT sensor nodes are enabled by a number of fundamental technologies, namely a low-power MCU, some form of wireless communication and strong security. With this in mind, the Atmel IoT Secure Hello World series will offer attendees hands-on training, introducing them to some of the core technologies making the Internet of Things possible, including Wi-Fi and CryptoAuthentication.

These training sessions will showcase Atmel’s Wi-Fi capability and CryptoAuthentication hardware key storage in the context of the simplest possible use-case in order to focus attention on the practical aspects of combining the associated supporting devices and software. This includes learning how to send temperature information to any mobile device via a wireless network and how to enable the remote control of LEDs on a SAM D21 Xplained Pro board over a Wi-Fi network using a WINC1500. In addition, attendees will explore authentication of IoT nodes, as well as how to implement a secure communications link.

Take the very fundamental use-case of switching on an LED, for instance, which will represent our ‘Hello World!’ For this IoT application, the LED will be controlled using a smartphone app via the Internet, while a sensor node will be enabled to read an analog temperature sensor. The first part of the training will introduce Atmel Wi-Fi technology, which connects our embedded development kit of choice, an Atmel | SMART SAMD21 Xplained Pro, via the Atmel SmartConnect WINC1500 Wi-Fi module to a local access point. The result will be the ability to easily and securely send temperature information to any mobile device on the network, while also having remote control of the LED.

From the moment a ‘thing’ is connected, it becomes susceptible to a slew of potential security risks from hackers. That’s why the second part of the training will delve deeper into how CryptoAuthentication can be used to authenticate the temperature sensor node and host application before it can read the temperature information to avoid fake nodes. A secure communications link will be implemented using a session key to and from the remote node.

When all is said and done, building for the IoT demands innovative and secure solutions while architecting a balance between performance, scalability, compatibility, security, flexibility and energy efficiency — all of which Atmel covers extremely well.

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Atmel | Tech on Tour Agenda At-a-Glance

The Atmel team will be coming through a number of major cities, from Manchester and Milan to Munich and Moscow. Ready to join us? Be sure to register for one of the Atmel | Tech on Tour European, Asia, or North America locations today! Upon registering, you will even receive a WINC1500 Xplained Pro Starter Kit to take home.

8:30 – 9:00     Check-In and Preparation

• Assistance with installing software will be provided

9:00 – 10:15     Introduction to Atmel Wi-Fi Solution

• WINC1500/WILC1000 Hardware and Performance Overview
• Software and IoT Solution Overview
• Wi-Fi Network Controller IoT Sensor Application

10:15 – 10:30    Hands-on Introduction

10:30 – 10:45    BREAK

10:45 – 12:30    Hands-on: WINC1500 Wi-Fi Network Controller IoT Sensor Application

• Sending temperature information to any phone or tablet on the network
• Enabling remote control of LED0 on the SAM D21 Xplained Pro board

12:30 – 1:30    LUNCH

1:30 – 2:15      Introduction to Atmel CryptoAuthentication IoT Security and Technology

2:15 – 3:00      Hands-on Introduction: Authenticating IoT Nodes

• Authenticate the temp sensor node and host application before being able to read the temperature information to avoid fake nodes
• How to implement a secure communications link using a session key to and from the remote node to any phone or tablet on the network

3:00 – 3:15    BREAK

3:45 – 4:30    Hands-on: Authenticating IoT Nodes (continued…)

4:30 – 5:00    Wrap-up, Questions and Answers

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Prerequisites

Software Requirements

• Download Atmel Studio 6.2 software.
• Wireshark Packet Sniffer will be provided.

Hardware Requirements

• Attendees are required to bring a laptop. Atmel will NOT supply computers at the training.
• Please make sure to have administrator rights on your laptop.
• Laptop must have at least one Internet port and one free USB host connector.

Evaluation Kit Requirements

• Atmel | SMART SAMD21 – XPRO host MCU board
• Atmel WINC1500 module mounted ATWINC 1500 Xplained Pro Extension (Product Code: ATWINC1500-XSTK)
• Atmel Digital I/O WING extension board for sensor and SD-card input target USB