A Survey on IOT Firmware Security

Abstract

The recent advancements in technology and the rapid movement towards cyber-connected societies have led to the unprecedented use of Internet-of-things (IoT) devices as an effective enabler of such new trends. In fact, IoT devices are continuously penetrating all personal and critical domains like homes, infrastructures, manufacturing, and the military. Despite the numerous benefits, the security concerns of IoT are rising. This is because of the constrained nature of IoT devices and the possible devastating effects of successful attacks on them. While there are many attempts to address the security concerns in IoT from different perspectives, the literature lacks any study that surveys all of the available approaches that focuses on the area of IoT firmware (software) security. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to survey the existing approaches that shed light on IoT firmware security issues and preserving mechanisms. In line with this, current challenges and future research directions were outlined.