Assessing the Feasibility of Adaptive Security Models for the Internet of Things

Internet of Things (IoT) is a heterogeneous and dynamic space as it connects a variety of sensing, mobile and other physical objects. Traditional security controls and mechanisms tend to enforce pre-defined and manual risk mitigation approaches that manage security in a particular context. They seem to be insufficient in IoT scenarios that have a diverse and evolving technology outlook and threat spectrum. Adaptive security can be a suitable candidate for IoT security as it can observe and respond to threats dynamically. However, it is challenging to identify how practical are the existing adaptive security solutions in IoTdriven ecosystem. In this paper, we present an evaluation framework that assesses the feasibility of adaptive security models in IoT settings. The framework evaluates a given model from an adaptive risk management perspective and assesses the extent to which it is aware of its ecosystem. Moreover, it captures the essential features of a given model, such as adaptation aptitude and architectural aspects. Therefore, the framework determines the security as well as the architectural capabilities of a model. We have evaluated various models and have identified major trends and gaps in their modeling approaches.