Maxim Integrated has developed a system which makes it easier to authenticate sensor and avoid false readings 

Maxim Integrated says it has developed a system which provides protection against counterfeit sensor data, guaranteeing its authenticity and integrity along the entire data chain, from transducer to the cloud.

The company says its system addresses the many issues related to system security in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) installations.

The Arduino-compatible MaxRefDes143# Reference Design consists of a protected sensor node with a DS28E15 secure authenticator, DS7505 temperature sensor, and MAX44009 light sensor, all connected to the ARM mbed technology shield with its DS2465 secure coprocessor (SHA-256), 1-Wire and I2C interfaces, Wi-Fi module, and LED/LCD/pushbutton user interfaces. 

The rapid growth of IoT capabilities for industrial applications comes with legitimate concerns about data integrity, due to deliberate corruption of critical sensor data anywhere between a source and the cloud.

Maxim says the reference design’s architecture and components, Arduino-compatible hardware interface, and ARM mbed libraries support simplifies development of secure, uncorrupted, and authenticated sensor-to-web data.

The company adds that the system is “ideal” for analog sensor node and data authentication in factory automation and industrial processing applications.

The reference design’s two-stage hierarchical architecture consists of a shield that communicates to a web server, and a protected sensor node for data acquisition and authentication.

The shield includes a Wi-Fi module; a DS2465 secure coprocessor for offloading SHA-256 cryptographic computation; 1-Wire and I²C interfaces; user-interface LCD, LEDs, and pushbuttons; along with alarm and logging functions. The sensor node contains a DS28E15 secure authenticator, DS7505 temperature sensor, and MAX44009 light sensor.

Scott Jones, executive director, embedded security, Maxim Integrated, says: “The reference design is a powerful, much-needed tool for addressing the genuine issues of data security and authentication for Industrial IoT installations.

“The reference design combines the shield and sensor node to offer a solution with a high level of security and minimal development start-up effort, and with low system-overhead burden.”

Michael Horne, vice president of marketing and sales, IoT business, ARM, says: “Enabling robust security and data integrity is critical to the continued adoption of IoT solutions.

“The MaxRefDes143# simplifies testing with ARM mbed-compatible development boards, allowing designers to rapidly develop resilient industrial IoT platforms.”