The Case for ABE in the IIoT

A lack of security in the industrial IoT (IIoT) can be costly. From interrupted factory lines to major disruptions in supply chains, the damage from a cybersecurity incident can be significant. Standard public key encryption (PKE) can reduce those risks. But an emerging, advanced form of PKE called attribute-based encryption (ABE) allows greater functionality, enabling the decryption of data when a defined set of attributes of the user matches those of the cipher text. Use cases could associate decryption of data, such as raw images or sensor data, with specific times and places or to pre-vetted personnel. The possibilities for finer-grained control of and more flexible encrypted access to IIoT networks are worth exploring. Read this IIoT World article by Chris Shaw, Vice President of Global Marketing at NTT Research, that outlines this topic in greater detail – “Attribute-based encryption could offer huge benefits to the IIoT.”