UNH-IOL has launched its Internet of Things (IoT) IP Testing Services, addressing the need from IoT vendors for custom IP testing services and IPv6 compliance.
The new testing services program will meet a need for custom IP test services for IoT products serving home networks, industrial networks, smart cities and connected cars. The group said it plans to help vendors improve IoT interoperability, reduce time-to-market and enhance the customer experience.
RELATED: UNH-IOL capitalizes on data center growth with 25G Ethernet testing service suite
“By having their devices validated through the IoT IP Testing Services, IoT device manufacturers can be certain their products are optimized for and compliant with operator security requirements and changing network conditions,” said Lancen LaChance, VP of product management for GlobalSign, in a release.
Battling IoT cyberattacks
UNH-IOL’s service could not come at a more critical time.
Just last month, nearly 1 million Deutsche Telekom wireline broadband customers in Germany could not get access to the internet following an attack on what were poorly secured and older DSL modems.
According to the internet storm center (ISC), a group that provides free analysis and warning service to internet users and organizations, the outage was traced to Mirai malware.
Mirai malware is a DDoS Trojan that targets Linux systems and, in particular, internet of things (IoT) devices. It uses malware from phishing emails to infect computer or home networks initially and then spreads the virus to various devices to create a robot network.
But Germany isn’t the only country where the Mirai botnet has wreaked havoc on IoT connected devices.
In October, Dyn, a managed DNS provider to a number of major internet websites, suffered a widespread distributed denial of service (DDoS) cyberattack that caused an internet outage on the East Coast. That attack was due to the Mirai botnet.
Dyn said in a blog post that the DDoS attack involved tens of millions of IP addresses, and that it is “conducting a thorough root cause and forensic analysis.”
Problems with IoT security will continue to rise as consumers start to purchase more devices, such as video surveillance cameras and smart thermostats.
Validating IoT IPv6 compliance
In tandem with the UNH-IOL’s new testing services, the IPv6 Forum is developing an IPv6 Ready Logo specifically for the IoT market. The logo validates basic IPv6 functionality, addressing privacy and domain name system (DNS) services.
This extensible service will have the ability to address future security request for comments (RFCs) such as data transport layer security (DTLS), Lightweight IKEv2 and simple certificate enrollment protocol (SCEP).
Starting in spring 2017, the IoT IP Testing Services will begin offering