A Security Evaluation of Popular Internet of Things Protocols for Manufacturers

The Internet of Things (IoT) continues to increase in popularity as more "smart" devices are released and sold every year. Three protocols in particular, Zigbee, Z-wave, and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) are used for network communication on a significant number of IoT devices. However, devices utilizing each of these three protocols have been compromised due to either implementation failures by the manufacturer or security shortcomings in the protocol itself. This paper identifies the security features and shortcomings of each protocol citing employed attacks for reference. Additionally, it will serve to help manufacturers make two decisions: First, should they invest in creating their own protocol, and second, if they decide against this, which protocol should they use and how should they implement it to ensure their product is as secure as it can be. These answers are made with respect to the specific factors manufacturers in the IoT space face such as the reversed CIA model with availability usually being the most important of the three and the ease of use versus security tradeoff that manufacturers have to consider. This paper finishes with a section aimed at future research for IoT communication protocols.