October 21st, 2016, the Dyn Botnet Cyberattack takes out major online retailers and internet service providers.
It's best to design devices whose firmware can be field updated to patch for future unforeseen vulnerabilities. It's advisable to not design a device that allows users to keep passwords default, and as a user it's a good idea not keep default passwords on devices like routers and security cameras. Microchip has available at this time a Secure IoT Sensor node, released with an onboard CrytoAthentication chip programmed to work out of the box with Google Core Cloud Services. Want to make your city smarter? Want architecture that dynamically adapts to occupancy? Do you want your cows to automagically register their RFID tag upon check in and control their access to the milking robot? The brains behind Microchip's secure connected development platform, AVR-IOT WG, Microchip Part Number AC164160 is an AVR ATMEGA4808 microcontroller. The IoT connectivity is provided by the WINC1510 802.11 Wi-Fi module, which takes the communication and networking heavy lifting off the microcontroller. The security is provided by the ATECC608A Secure Elements, preprogrammed to negotiate a successful connection to the Google Cloud. The board has a mikroBUS ClickBoard™ footprint that leverages the hundreds of sensor and expansion boards available from MikroElektronika and third party manufacturers. The 0.1" pitch header breakout also allows for ease of access to the SPI and I2C buses, and the board comes supplied with a high-resolution temperature sensor and light sensor. The board comes with four status LEDs that allow for ease of monitoring Wi-Fi Connectivity, the Google Cloud Connection, successful data uploads, and one dedicated to error status. Further assisting in ease of use, the AVR-IOT WG board appears as a mass storage device, connecting to a PC allows the user to access the quick start guide and text files that contain the encryption configuration data and serial numbers. While developing, a user can just drag and drop a hex file into the folder to program the device.