Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. today announced the development of network control technology that can securely operate IoT devices installed on-site.
Sensors, manufacturing equipment, and other IoT devices connected to networks in on-site environments such as factories lack the capability for authentication or virus checking, leaving them open to malware attacks that result in stoppages in factory operations. This is a global problem, and existing anti-virus software often cannot be installed in IoT devices due to CPU and memory capacity restrictions, and many existing devices are exposed to threats from cyberattacks.
Fujitsu Laboratories has now developed technology that analyzes and manages the interconnectivity between IoT devices and network devices, based on operating information collected in gateways, responding to successive changes in network structure to identify the communications of IoT devices behaving suspiciously.
In addition, Fujitsu Laboratories developed technology to efficiently control communication blocks. If an IoT device infected with malware were to attack other devices, for example, these technologies could detect that communication by comparing ordinary communication routes, based on the relationships of connections recorded in the gateways, with the actual communication routes. Moreover, by restricting the most appropriate network device managed by the gateway, the impact of the cyberattack can be minimized.
Fujitsu Laboratories aims to commercialize these technologies during fiscal 2018 as part of the gateway functionality of the Fujitsu Network Virtuora series of network products, offered by Fujitsu Limited.
