Understanding the Impact of IoT Security Patterns on CPU Usage and
Energy Consumption on IoT Devices
Abstract
The Internet of Things (IoT) has given rise to numerous security issues
that require effective solutions. IoT security patterns have been
suggested as an effective approach to address recurrent security design
issues. Although several IoT security patterns are proposed in the
literature, it remains unclear how they impact the energy consumption
and CPU usage of IoT-edge-based applications. We conducted an empirical
study using three testbed IoT applications (i.e., smart home, smart
city, and healthcare) to shed light on this issue. We evaluated the
impact of six IoT security patterns, including Personal Zone Hub,
Trusted Communication Partner, Outbound-Only Connection, Blacklist,
Whitelist, and Secure Sensor Node, both in pairs and in combination
(i.e., all patterns). Specifically, we conducted multiple penetration
tests to first assess the pattern’s effectiveness against attacks. Then,
we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the energy consumption and CPU
usage of the applications with/without the implemented security
patterns, aiming to evaluate the potential impact of these patterns on
energy efficiency and CPU usage. Our findings demonstrate a
statistically significant increase in energy consumption and CPU usage.
Based on these findings, we provide guidelines for IoT developers to
follow when implementing IoT-edge-based applications.