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OWASP Internet of Things Project
- Main
- IoT Attack Surface Areas
- Top IoT Vulnerabilities
- Top 10 IoT Vulnerabilities (2014)
- IoT Testing Guides
- IoT Security Guidance
- Talks
- Curated IoT Reading
- Community
- IoT Conferences
OWASP Internet of Things (IoT) ProjectOxford defines the Internet of Things as: “A proposed development of the Internet in which everyday objects have network connectivity, allowing them to send and receive data.” The OWASP Internet of Things Project is designed to help manufacturers, developers, and consumers better understand the security issues associated with the Internet of Things, and to enable users in any context to make better security decisions when building, deploying, or assessing IoT technologies. The project looks to define a structure for various IoT sub-projects such as Attack Surface Areas, Testing Guides and Top Vulnerabilities. LicensingThe OWASP Internet of Things Project is free to use. It is licensed under the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license], so you can copy, distribute and transmit the work, and you can adapt it, and use it commercially, but all provided that you attribute the work and if you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.
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What is the OWASP Internet of Things Project?The OWASP Internet of Things Project provides:
Project Leaders
Major Contributors
Related Projects |
Email ListQuick DownloadIoT Attack Surface Mapping DEFCON 23 News and Events
Classifications |
The OWASP IoT Attack Surface Areas (DRAFT) are as follows:
Attack Surface | Vulnerability |
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Ecosystem Access Control |
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Device Memory |
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Device Physical Interfaces |
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Device Web Interface |
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Device Firmware |
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Device Network Services |
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Administrative Interface |
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Local Data Storage |
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Cloud Web Interface |
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Third-party Backend APIs |
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Update Mechanism |
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Mobile Application |
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Vendor Backend APIs |
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Ecosystem Communication |
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Network Traffic |
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The top IoT vulnerabilities (DRAFT) are as follow:
Vulnerability | Attack Surface | Summary |
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Username Enumeration |
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Weak Passwords |
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Account Lockout |
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Unencrypted Services |
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Two-factor Authentication |
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Poorly Implemented Encryption |
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Update Sent Without Encryption |
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Update Location Writable |
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Denial of Service |
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Removal of Storage Media |
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No Manual Update Mechanism |
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Missing Update Mechanism |
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Firmware Version Display and/or Last Update Date |
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For each attack surface areas, the following sections are included:
- A description of the attack surface
- Threat agents
- Attack vectors
- Security weaknesses
- Technical impacts
- Business impacts
- Example vulnerabilities
- Example attacks
- Guidance on how to avoid the issue
- References to OWASP and other related resources
- I1 Insecure Web Interface
- I2 Insufficient Authentication/Authorization
- I3 Insecure Network Services
- I4 Lack of Transport Encryption
- I5 Privacy Concerns
- I6 Insecure Cloud Interface
- I7 Insecure Mobile Interface
- I8 Insufficient Security Configurability
- I9 Insecure Software/Firmware
- I10 Poor Physical Security
Tester IoT Security Guidance
(DRAFT)
The goal of this page is to help testers assess IoT devices and applications in the Internet of Things space. The guidance below is at a basic level, giving testers of devices and applications a basic set of guidelines to consider from their perspective. This is not a comprehensive list of considerations, and should not be treated as such, but ensuring that these fundamentals are covered will greatly improve the security of any IoT product.
Category | IoT Security Consideration |
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I1: Insecure Web Interface |
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I2: Insufficient Authentication/Authorization |
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I3: Insecure Network Services |
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I4: Lack of Transport Encryption |
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I5: Privacy Concerns |
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I6: Insecure Cloud Interface |
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I7: Insecure Mobile Interface |
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I8: Insufficient Security Configurability |
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I9: Insecure Software/Firmware |
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I10: Poor Physical Security |
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General Recommendations
Consider the following recommendations for all user interfaces (local device, cloud-based and mobile):
- Avoid potential Account Harvesting issues by:
- Ensuring valid user accounts can't be identified by interface error messages
- Ensuring strong passwords are required by users
- Implementing account lockout after 3 - 5 failed login attempts
Manufacturer IoT Security Guidance
(DRAFT)
The goal of this section is help manufacturers build more secure products in the Internet of Things space. The guidance below is at a basic level, giving builders of products a basic set of guidelines to consider from their perspective. This is not a comprehensive list of considerations, and should not be treated as such, but ensuring that these fundamentals are covered will greatly improve the security of any IoT product.
Category | IoT Security Consideration |
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I1: Insecure Web Interface |
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I2: Insufficient Authentication/Authorization |
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I3: Insecure Network Services |
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I4: Lack of Transport Encryption |
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I5: Privacy Concerns |
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I6: Insecure Cloud Interface |
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I7: Insecure Mobile Interface |
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I8: Insufficient Security Configurability |
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I9: Insecure Software/Firmware |
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I10: Poor Physical Security |
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General Recommendations
Consider the following recommendation for all Internet of Things products:
- Avoid the potential for persistent vulnerabilities in devices that have no update capability by ensuring that all devices and systems are built with the ability to be updated when vulnerabilities are discovered
- Rebranded devices used as part of a system should be properly configured so that unnecessary or unintended services do not remain active after the rebranding
[ NOTE: Given the fact that each deployment and every environment is different, it is important to weigh the pros and cons of implementing the advice above before taking each step. ]
Developer IoT Security Guidance
(DRAFT)
The goal of this section is help developers build more secure applications in the Internet of Things space. The guidance below is at a basic level, giving developers of applications a basic set of guidelines to consider from their perspective. This is not a comprehensive list of considerations, and should not be treated as such, but ensuring that these fundamentals are covered will greatly improve the security of any IoT product.
Category | IoT Security Consideration |
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I1: Insecure Web Interface |
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I2: Insufficient Authentication/Authorization |
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I3: Insecure Network Services |
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I4: Lack of Transport Encryption |
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I5: Privacy Concerns |
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I6: Insecure Cloud Interface |
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I7: Insecure Mobile Interface |
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I8: Insufficient Security Configurability |
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I9: Insecure Software/Firmware |
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I10: Poor Physical Security |
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General Recommendations
Consider the following recommendations for all user interfaces (local device, cloud-based and mobile):
- Avoid potential Account Harvesting issues by:
- Ensuring valid user accounts can't be identified by interface error messages
- Ensuring strong passwords are required by users
- Implementing account lockout after 3 - 5 failed login attempts
[ NOTE: Given the fact that each deployment and every environment is different, it is important to weigh the pros and cons of implementing the advice above before taking each step. ]
Consumer IoT Security Guidance
(DRAFT)
The goal of this section is help consumers purchase secure products in the Internet of Things space. The guidance below is at a basic level, giving consumers a basic set of guidelines to consider from their perspective. This is not a comprehensive list of considerations, and should not be treated as such, but ensuring that these fundamentals are covered will greatly aid the consumer in purchasing a secure IoT product.
Category | IoT Security Consideration |
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I1: Insecure Web Interface |
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I2: Insufficient Authentication/Authorization |
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I3: Insecure Network Services |
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I4: Lack of Transport Encryption |
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I5: Privacy Concerns |
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I6: Insecure Cloud Interface |
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I7: Insecure Mobile Interface |
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I8: Insufficient Security Configurability |
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I9: Insecure Software/Firmware |
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I10: Poor Physical Security |
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General Recommendations
If you are looking to purchase a device or system, consider the following recommendations:
- Include security in feature considerations when evaluating a product
- Place Internet of Things devices on a separate network if possible using a firewall
[ NOTE: Given the fact that each deployment and every environment is different, it is important to weigh the pros and cons of implementing the advice above before taking each step. ]
RSA Conference San Francisco
Securing the Internet of Things: Mapping IoT Attack Surface Areas with the OWASP IoT Top 10 Project
Daniel Miessler, Practice Principal
April 21, 2015
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Defcon 23
IoT Attack Surface Mapping
Daniel Miessler
August 6-9, 2015
A global grassroots organization that is focused on issues where computer security intersects public safety and human life.
Their areas of focus include:
- Medical devices
- Automobiles
- Home Electronics
- Public Infrastructure
A project focused on helping small business connect with security researchers to aid in securing their IoT-based products before going market.
Their goals include:
- Focus effort towards small business
- Build partnerships
- Coordinate efforts
- Curate informational resources
- Present research
Formed as an informal industry working group in 2005, today OTA is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) approved 501c3 charitable organization with the mission to enhance online trust and empower users, while promoting innovation and the vitality of the internet. OTA is global organization supported by over 100 organizations headquartered in Bellevue, Washington with offices in Washington DC.
Addressing the mounting concerns, in January 2015 the Online Trust Alliance, established the IoT Trustworthy Working Group (ITWG), a multi-stakeholder initiative. The group recognizes “security and privacy by design” must be a priority from the onset of product development and be addressed holistically. The framework focuses on privacy, security sustainability. The sustainability pillar is critical as it looks at the life-cycle issues related to long- term supportability and transfers of ownership of devices and the data collected.
The AllSeen Alliance is a Linux Foundation collaborative project. They're a cross-industry consortium dedicated to enabling the interoperability of billions of devices, services and apps that comprise the Internet of Things. The Alliance supports the AllJoyn Framework, an open source software framework that makes it easy for devices and apps to discover and communicate with each other. Developers can write applications for interoperability regardless of transport layer, manufacturer, and without the need for Internet access. The software has been and will continue to be openly available for developers to download, and runs on popular platforms such as Linux and Linux-based Android, iOS, and Windows, including many other lightweight real-time operating systems.
The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC)
The Industrial Internet Consortium is the open membership, international not-for-profit consortium that is setting the architectural framework and direction for the Industrial Internet. Founded by AT&T, Cisco, GE, IBM and Intel in March 2014, the consortium’s mission is to coordinate vast ecosystem initiatives to connect and integrate objects with people, processes and data using common architectures, interoperability and open standards.
Securing Smart Cities is a not-for-profit global initiative that aims to solve the existing and future cybersecurity problems of smart cities through collaboration between companies, governments, media outlets, other not-for-profit initiatives and individuals across the world.