8 Security at the Edge
This chapter covers
- Understanding types of information attacks and exploits.
- Reviewing use cases where edge security vulnerabilities have been compromised resulting in substantial financial damages.
- Defining hardware-based security for edge systems.
- Identifying software and systems-based security best practices.
- Analyzing communication and networking security.
Security must not be overlooked or considered an appendage to a system—any system. We live in a world where there is a greater propensity that a device or system will be compromised maliciously than fail on its own. Security, as they say, is only as good as the weakest link in a chain. With edge system the “chain” just got longer and is far more distant and remote. The edge is the most attractive medium for recent systemic attacks on infrastructure. The reason the edge is so powerful is that the number of edge computers and IOT devices has grown exponentially, while the number of data center servers and personal computers has not. Edge systems are considered a weak point. Much of the lessons learned in IT security and datacenters has not propagated to edge systems. We also have to consider new elements of IT security that weren’t paramount in corporate facilities or buttoned-up data centers. This chapter will provide a treatment of all the considerations around edge security as well as draw analogy from compromised systems.