An Internet of Things Software and Firmware Update Architecture Based on the SUIT Specification

Abstract: As society becomes more digitalized, cyberattacks are increasingly common and severe. Security in the Internet of Things (IoT) is essential, and IoT devices must be updated to patch vulnerabilities. The thesis aims to investigate the question "How can the Software Updates for Internet of Things (SUIT) specification be applied to develop a technology-agnostic and interoperable update architecture for heterogeneous networks of Internet of Things devices?" The thesis project studied the SUIT specifications to gain an understanding of what such an architecture must provide. Five high-level domains were identified and further discussed:1) roles of devices, servers, and operators, 2) key management, 3) device profiles, 4) authorization, and 5) update handling. The architecture was shown to fulfill the requirements SUIT imposes on the architecture and information model, while being flexible and extensible. A prototype was developed in the Contiki-NG operating system to evaluate the feasibility of the architecture. The thesis found that applying the proposed architecture to constrained systems is feasible and would enable updates in heterogeneous IoT networks.