i-TRACE - IoT Transport Assured for Critical Environments

i-TRACE innovates through the use of an ML and blockchain-based cybersecurity approach using enhanced gateways for IoT. It will tackle the challenge of securing constrained devices highly prevalent in IoT particularly in distributed and dispersed networks (utilities, transport, smart city etc). While reducing power use and enabling 'fit and forget' deployment these devices then lack the capacity to use typical security techniques such as signature-based approaches.

i-TRACE will implement an approach that introduces a device authentication/authorization mechanism. The gateway router will be able to regularly determine the identity of the devices and detect tampered devices. If a hacker introduces a malware/virus which might potentially corrupt the data which the sensor is sending to the GW router, it would be able to detect the device has been compromised. The data sent from the device will also be secured by using fairly lightweight encryption algorithm. The data will then make its way to the cloud server and be signed with a blockchain and stored in the secure data lake along with the provenance metadata. The end user will be able to read and detect the authenticity of the data whenever it needs by crosschecking the messages with the blockchain to obtain the ground truth. Since blockchain is immutable and tamper-proof, it is secure in principle and cannot be altered. This data will also be analysed by a ML system to run state-of-the-art threat analysis algorithms. This will identify & prioritise anomalies/outliers for action by security analysts.

i-TRACE will demonstrate its approach in a high social impact sector: the water industry. London is in the top 10 cities in the world most at risk of running out of freshwater. Our current use is 150 litres per person per day; to be sustainable, we need to reduce this to 118 litres. A third of this saving needs to come from more efficient use -- reducing consumption -- but while reducing the cost of water for households. i-TRACE will demonstrate its approach to enable a secure yet low-cost, long-life approach to smart water meters. This in turn will enable approaches to household behaviour change.

The i-TRACE Partnership includes relevant cross sector expertise to enable successful innovation delivery. Partners include: Cisco International Limited | Northumbrian Water Limited | BT plc | Senseon Tech Ltd | University of Warwick (Warwick Manufacturing Group).