Risk Management and Risk Countermeasure Portfolio of Fog Computing for Improving IoT Security

Abstract

In the era of Digital Transformation (DX), as the Internet continues to become more and more widespread, various devices are now connected to it and the number of IoT devices is increasing. Data generated by IoT devices has traditionally been aggregated in the cloud and processed over time. However, there are two issues with using the cloud. The first is the response delay caused by the long distance between the IoT device and the cloud, and the second is the difficulty of implementing sufficient security measures on the IoT device side due to the limited resources of the IoT device. To address these issues, fog computing, which is positioned in the middle between IoT devices and the cloud, has been attracting attention as a new network component. However, the risks associated with the introduction of fog computing have not yet been fully investigated.
In this study, we conducted a risk assessment of fog computing, which is newly established to promote the use of IoT devices, and identified 24 risk factors. The main countermeasures include the gradual introduction of connected IoT connection protocols and security policy matching. We also demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed risk countermeasures by evaluating the risk values. Furthermore, from a practical viewpoint, the portfolio for the proposed risk countermeasures is mentioned to ensure a more practical risk assessment result. As a result, the proposed risk countermeasures for fog computing will contribute to the safe and secure use of IoT devices.