nir-vana innovation network

The Internet of Things (IoT) connects numerous devices, including sensors and digital management systems for energy, utilities, transportation in Smart Cities; smart homes and offices; connected cars; Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs); and even industrial control systems.

However, the rapidly growing world of perpetually-connected smart devices presents proportionally large security risks. Existing security solutions are unable to keep pace with, scale-up, and address the security challenges facing the emerging IoT world.

The Singapore SME has developed a next-gen Zero Trust based cybersecurity solution explicitly designed for connected devices and critical infrastructure in the Internet of Things.

The solution is Powered by Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP) architecture and private Blockchain Technology.

The Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP) architecture renders critical infrastructure and IoT gateways invisible to attackers; while the customised agents along with Blockchain-based digital signatures and Transport Layer Security (TLS) technology secures all communication channels. This allows users to authenticate and authorise recognised devices within an IoT network, while preventing unauthorised devices from accessing these now protected networks.

The solution harnesses digital signatures - not just IP address - to identify, authenticate and authorize devices. Thus securing interconnected devices and communication networks while tightly ring-fencing OT and IT systems.

All communication between devices and control systems is secured using 4096 bit RSA encryption.

The Zero Trust setup aligns with the NIST framework and allows for micro-segmentation of connected devices and all associated users.

The integrated solution secures various forms of connected devices, IoT gateways, and the central systems that the devices connect into.

With a decentralised architecture, the solution provides a robust, scalable, and highly-resilient system with no single point of failure. This makes it suitable for large scale distributed IoT networks. It can be deployed within the Industrial IoT space across sensors, robotics, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, as well as for critical infrastructure within Smart City, Smart Factory and Industry 4.0 programmes.

The Singapore SME is interested in working with partners (MNEs or SMEs) to either license this technology or be a commercial partner with technical assistance rendered by the Singapore SME.

Advantages & innovations

This security system has the following benefits: • Cryptographically-secure digital identity for users, connected devices, and central servers/ services • Invisible and locked down critical systems with micro-segmentation and fine-grain access control • Best-in-class military-grade encryption for secured access to connected devices and IoT communication • Immutable and tamper-proof logs stored securely on the Blockchain for instant access/analysis

Stage of development

Prototype available for demonstration

Partner sought

The Singapore SME is interested in licensing or commercial agreements with technical assistance with the following types of partners that can be MNEs or SMEs of mid-large sizes: i) Licensing agreement: The partner could license the technology for further development and introduce it to its customers. ii) Commercial agreement with technical assistance: The partner could utilise the technology with technical support from the Singapore SME.