Security-by-design principles for embedded and IoT systems

Abstract

This paper proposes a five-layer security-by-design model for embedded and Internet of Things systems and validates its structural coverage against selected requirements from NISTIR 8259A, NIST SP 800-213, and ETSI EN 303 645. The layers cover hardware trust, device integrity, identity and access, communication and data protection, and lifecycle security. A traceability assessment for a smart-agriculture IoT architecture maps ten security requirement groups to design layers and implementation controls. All selected requirement groups are addressed, while the assessment also identifies device identification, data protection, secure updates, state awareness, and recovery as controls that must span multiple system components.