Project Closure: Project Report (Blog) and SeminarValue:40%Due date:30-May-2018Return date:21-Jun-2018Submission method optionsAlternative submission method Task For the Group OPTION: The Capstone...

IoT-based Healthcare Application
IoT-Based Healthcare Application
IoT-based Healthcare Application         Project Closure        5/25/2018            
Table of Contents
Introduction    2
Significance of the Research    2
Literature Review: Security Aspects of IoT Application    3
Device Security Issues    3
Authorization & Authentication Issues    3
Device Updates for Security    4
Secure Communication Issues    4
Data Privacy & Integrity Issues    5
Architectural Security Issues    6
Data Protection Issues    6
Data Encryption Issues    6
Identity Management Security Issues    7
Scale Management for IoT-Cloud    7
Denial of Service & Distributed Denial of Service Attacks    8
Limitations & Research Gap    8
Aim of the Research    9
Materials & Methods    9
Research Methodology    9
Data Collection Methods    9
Results    13
Discussion    13
Set of Countermeasures & Solutions    13
Device Security    13
Securing the Cloud    13
IoT Security Lifecycle Management    14
Closure Activities    14
User trainings    14
Documentation activities    14
Sign offs and acceptance    14
Lessons acquired    15
Submission of the closure report    15
Recommendations & Conclusion    15
References    17
Introduction
Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the blooming technologies that combine a lot of different components on one platform so that the desired aims may be achieved. Some of the common components that are usually present in an IoT application are computer systems, Smartphones, laptops, tablets, web servers, database engines, data servers, sensors, network equipment, etc. IoT has gained a lot of popularity in the recent years that has led to the expansion of its usage. There are organizations that are researching the technology as it is being demanded by the users. Healthcare is one such sector that has started to witness the application of IoT. The IoT application that was suggested in the previous work was an IoT-based healthcare application. The aim of the application is to improve the quality of healthcare and to avoid the problems that are observed with the current style of working.
IoT is a technology that has succeeded in giving numerous benefits to the end users. The components are now connected with each other in a better way so that the transmission and sharing of the information is quick. The application that has been proposed for the health care organization will be useful because it will allow easier integration of various modules and units. There may be cyber-security issues that may get involved with the application that has been proposed. It is therefore necessary to have an idea of all the possible security risks and attacks that might come up.
Significance of the Research
The healthcare application that has to be developed and deployed using IoT as the base technology will carry out the activities, such as analysis of the health information of the patients, diagnosis of the patients, transmission of the medical reports, interaction between the patient and the medical professional, and likewise. There will be numerous access points that will be involved in the application. These access points and the other agents may bring up security risks and attacks. There may be compromise on the confidentiality and integrity of the information along with the impact on the availability of the application services (Botta, de Donato, Persico & Pescapé, 2015).
The research is significant as it will provide the development team and the other members in the project team with an idea of the probable security risks and attacks that may emerge in the IoT application. They will be able to apply the measures to avoid these attacks and there will be decreased probability of the attacks. In case of occurrence of the security attacks, there will be adverse implications on the organization as well as the end-users of the application. The research will make sure that all of such adverse impacts are prevented and avoided (Wang, Bi & Xu, 2014).
Literature Review: Security Aspects of IoT Application
Device Security Issues
The IoT application that has been proposed will involve a lot many devices. There will be devices associated with health and medical field in terms of equipment required to record the health signs and smart wearables. There will also be additional devices that will be involved, such as computer systems, laptops, Smartphones, etc. There will be several constraints associated with these devices. The primary constraints will be in the terms of data storage abilities along with the processing abilities of each of these devices. In case of functioning on the batteries, these devices will run on the power saver mode. The usual set of encryption protocols and algorithms will not work in this case. There are various set of activities that are involved in one encryption and decryption cycle. The sharing and transmission of the data sets in such cases would not be easy to carry out. This may bring up the security issues and attacks, such as side channel and power analysis. The devices that have been stated above may also get lost. There will be sensitive health information that will be stored in these applications that may get compromised as an outcome. Also, if the medical and demographic details of the patients are acquired by an unauthorized entity, then the privacy will be put at stake.
Authorization & Authentication Issues
There are a lot many access points that will be present in the IoT-based healthcare application. This is because of the presence of numerous components, gadgets, and devices. The presence of such huge number of access points will also lead to the enhancement in the failure points and possibilities. It would not be feasible to apply similar authentication protocols and measures in all of these access points. There will be variations that will be involved to that the security of all these points may be maintained (Duncan & Whittington, 2012). However, in case of the inability to do so, there will be security vulnerabilities that may exist and the attackers may use them for their advantage.
For instance, if the Smartphones being used by the patients for accessing the application have security loopholes, then the attackers will be able to violate the authentication measures. The access to the Smartphone will be obtained and the application may also be accessed using the same. The privacy and confidentiality of the data sets will get compromised as an impact (Yousuf, Mahmoud, Aloul & Zualkernan, 2015).
Device Updates for Security
There are several enhancements and advancements that are taking place in the field of technology. The security attacks that are deisgned by the malevolent entities are also specifically designed for certain device versions. For example, if an attack is designed for version 1 of a device, then the vendors may update the version to 2 which will eliminate the portability of the attack. The IoT-based health care application involved the use of various devices. There will be devices associated with health and medical field in terms of equipment required to record the health signs and smart wearables. There will also be additional devices that will be involved, such as computer systems, laptops, Smartphones, etc. These devices involved with the application must always be checked for updates. The available updates and security patches must be immediately installed as soon as they are available so that the device version or configuration specific risks and attacks do not occur. However, it is often seen that the vendors delay the launch of these updates. There may be delay for the side of the IoT vendor or the device vendor. In both the cases, the benefit will go to the malevolent entity involved (Ali, Khan & Zomaya, 2016). The implementation of the available updates in the device may have an impact on the availability of the regular services associated with the device. The IoT-based healthcare application has availability as one of the necessary requirements. In case of the attack, the availability may get impacted. This may bring down the patient engagement and trust and will also not be beneficial for any of the other stakeholders associated with the application.
Secure Communication Issues
The different IoT components that are present in the application need to have interaction and frequent communication with each other. Otherwise, the desired function of the application will not be achieved. For example, if there is no communication mechanism between the health signs recorded by the medical equipment and the analytical tools, then the entire purpose of developing the application will be nullified. Similarly, all of the other components will demand enhanced level of integration so that communication and transmission of the data may be done easily (Pan & McElhannon, 2017). However, there may be issues of secure and safe communication that may be observed. This is because the transmissions will not be protected by the encryption codes and algorithms. This may have an impact on the information properties, such as integrity and confidentiality of the data sets. There may be issues of leakage of the data sets and the loss/breaching of the data that may come up.
Data Privacy & Integrity Issues
The IoT-based healthcare application that has been proposed will make use of numerous cloud platforms as well. These platforms will be used for a variety of purposes, such as communication of the data sets, transmission, and storage of data. These are the scenarios wherein the specific data privacy guidelines and principles that may be utilized for monitoring the private information may get separated from the IoT data payloads (Sahmim & Gharsellaoui, 2017). During the design and development of the application, there may be abundant data sets that may be collected for the purpose of the execution of these activities. However, not all of these data sets will be relevant and it may become required to eliminate the data pieces not necessary. The presence of cloud platforms in the application will further enhance the likelihood of the security attacks. There are specific security issues associated with cloud that will also get involved with the IoT specific threats and attacks.
The IoT-based healthcare application is prone to various forms of security risks and attacks. The most common out of all are the malware attacks. There may be attacks of malicious codes, such as viruses, ransomware, Logic Bombs, worms, Trojan Horses, and likewise that may infect the application. The malware may get an easy entry to the application because of the poor and unsecure network connections or the device vulnerabilities. The IoT applications are also exposed to numerous data integrity issues. There will be a lot of data that will be transmitted from one component to the other. The alteration of the messages being transmitted or the media files may be done by the attackers. This may have an extremely adverse implication on the medical professionals as well as the patients. The alteration of the health signs and conditions may lead to incorrect diagnosis by the medical professional which may have a fatal impact on the patient. The reputation of the medical association and the professional involved will also be put at stake.
Architectural Security Issues
The IoT application will be designed and...