Licentiate of Technology Rauli Kaksonen from the University of Oulu, Finland has developed a new cybersecurity method that promises to address the security challenges of IoT devices. The world of IoT technology encompasses a vast array of devices from different manufacturers, many of which have varying levels of security. Kaksonen emphasizes that the current cybersecurity landscape is fragmented and unsystematic, which complicates security evaluation and improvement. His newly developed method speeds up the identification of vulnerabilities by automating and systematizing the evaluation process, making it a significant addition to the current cybersecurity toolkit.
With this new method, IoT device manufacturers and users will be able to assess and improve the security of their devices more efficiently. Kaksonen’s method provides a transparent and automated way to measure the cybersecurity of IoT devices. A security profile is created for the device, which can be verified using tools, allowing different stakeholders to accurately gauge the actual security level. As IoT devices are used today in a wide range of applications, from consumer electronics to industrial systems, neglecting their security can lead to severe consequences, ranging from privacy breaches to large-scale infrastructure vulnerabilities. Therefore, improving security is a critical part of building a safe digital environment, and Kaksonen views his method as a significant tool in this effort.
From a cybersecurity perspective, Kaksonen stresses that protecting current IoT devices cannot be left solely to individual organizations; it is an infrastructure-wide issue that innovations like his new method can help address. According to him, this research opens up opportunities to develop standards that are more detailed and practical.
Kaksonen will defend his dissertation on October 11th at the University of Oulu, where he will present his method in detail and review the results of his research. This new method could be a groundbreaking step forward in the field of cybersecurity, and there are high expectations for its potential to enhance the security of the IoT sector.
Additional Information: Dissertation
Kaksonen has had a long career, beginning in the 1990s, in various international technology companies. He currently works at a newly established growth company, Test of Things. In his dissertation research, he focused on IoT cybersecurity, security standards, and security tools.
Details of the Defense: Licentiate of Technology Rauli Kaksonen will defend his doctoral dissertation at the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, in the Biomimetics and Intelligent Systems Research Unit, on Friday, October 11th, 2024, at 12:00 PM, in room L10 on the Linnanmaa campus. The topic of the dissertation is Open and Tool-Driven Security Evaluation for Sustainable IoT Cybersecurity. The opponent will be Professor Basel Katt from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and the custos will be Professor Juha Röning from the University of Oulu.
Photo: University of Oulu/Mikko Törmänen
