The GSMA has published a new case study outlining how its IoT Security Guidelines are helping the University of Seville, the Port Authority of Seville and Telefónica to develop Tecnoport 2025, a new project designed improve the efficiency of transport and logistics in south west Spain. The Port of Seville is on the Guadalquivir River which is an important logistics hub and home to more than one million people.
The Tecnoport 2025 initiative uses a number of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions including wireless networks and sensors to improve the tracking and remote control of containers passing through the port as well as to optimise the rail and river traffic in the area. It uses a combination of virtual private networks (VPNs), private access point names (APNs) and multiple-factor authentication mechanisms to keep the new IoT solutions secure. Access to these networks is controlled by SIM cards and other mobile authentication solutions.
There were two areas where security was of paramount importance throughout the project which were the managed connectivity platform that controls cellular connectivity and the FIWARE-based Smart City Platform that aggregates the data generated by remotely deployed sensors. Tecnoport 2025 used the GSMA IoT Security Self-Assessment to test the security of the project and to ensure that the new solutions followed industry best practice.
The self-assessment process helped to highlight some important security features and lead to the addition of new security measures that hadn’t been considered before. It also highlighted the importance of using controls for access to the private APNs as well as isolating connected devices to ensure that they can’t be hijacked. However, overall, the project highlighted the importance of using common tools and adopting a common approach to security.
The GSMA IoT Security Guidelines and Self-Assessment
The GSMA published the IoT Security Guidelines in 2016 that draws on the expertise of the mobile telecommunications industry to provide a set of best practices for the secure end-to-end design, development and deployment of IoT solutions on any mobile network. They offer valuable insight to enable the creation of trusted, reliable and scalable IoT services. The GSMA has also issued the GSMA IoT Security Self-Assessment scheme which enables IoT companies to demonstrate that their products are aligned with the GSMA guidelines.
IoT Security at Mobile World Congress 2017
The GSMA is also hosting a seminar at Mobile World Congress 2017 called ‘IoT Elements: Bringing the Smart City to Life’. At the seminar, Telefónica will present the Tecnoport 2025 project highlighting the importance of IoT Security in a broader smart cities context. To register please go to: http://www.gsma.com/IoT/event/mwc17-cl-seminar-smart-city/