Cognitive Heterogeneous Architecture for Industrial IoT
Overview
In the world of IoT, trust is everything. With billions of devices connecting to networks every day, businesses and consumers must be confident that their data is safe, and their systems are secure. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is through a hardware root of trust, a foundational security measure that anchors trust directly in the physical components of IoT devices. Software-based security measures, while essential, are inherently vulnerable to attacks. Hackers can exploit software vulnerabilities to gain unauthorised access to IoT systems. In contrast, hardware-rooted security provides an additional layer of protection that is much harder to bypass.
CHARIOT developed a design method and cognitive computing platform for a unified approach towards Privacy, Security and Safety (PSS) of IoT Systems. Key innovations included a privacy and security protection method using PKI technologies to couple an IoT device key with a corresponding Blockchain key, a Blockchain ledger in which a cognitive engine and private key hashing were used to track and authorise changes, a fog-based decentralised infrastructure for Firmware Security integrity checking, an IoT Safety Supervision Engine and new methods for static code analysis of IoT devices. Three Living Labs demonstrated scalable, secure, and privacy-compliant IoT solutions.
Objectives
Specify a Methodological Framework for the Design and Operation of Secure and Safe IoT Applications addressing System Safety as a cross cutting concern.
Develop an Open Cognitive IoT Architecture and Platform, called the CHARIOT Platform, that exhibits intelligent safety behaviour in the diverse and complex ways in which the safety critical system and the IoT system will interact in a secure manner.
Develop a runtime IoT Privacy, Security and Safety Supervision Engine (IPSE) which will act continuously to understand and monitor the cyber-physical ecosystem made up of the IoT devices, safety critical systems and a PSS policy knowledge-base in real-time.
Test and validate Industrial IoT safety in three Living Labs (LLs) addressing different industrial areas in IoT safety.
Ensure scale up through wide dissemination, exploitation actions and a Capacity Building Programme aiming at infrastructure sustainability, organisational development, and human capital development through training on the practical use of the CHARIOT Concepts, Capabilities, Services and Platform Offering.
eBOS Role in the Project
In CHARIOT, eBOS led the survey of the industrial IoT domain to develop a searchable index of threats, protection technologies, and governance models, supporting risk management for security and safety across all lifecycle stages. eBOS also developed a cognitive application within the Integrated Privacy and Safety Engine (IPSE), working alongside components such as the Privacy and IoT Safety Supervision Engines. This application processed data from IoT gateways and sensors in the fog network, generating predictive analytics and visualising insights via a dedicated dashboard. Additionally, eBOS led the task of designing and validating the CHARIOT Living Labs across the railway, smart buildings, and airport sectors. This involved defining an agile, flexible framework to plan, monitor, and adapt testing activities for each use case. The methodology ensured replicability and comparability of results through iterative Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycles.
Alongside to its technical role, eBOS was responsible for the project’s Quality Assurance. It designed and enforced tailored QA procedures, monitoring their implementation throughout the project. These procedures ensured consistent review of deliverables, software components, and outputs, enabling timely corrective actions and maintaining high quality standards.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 780075.
