TrustEvent: Cross-Platform IoT Trigger Event Verification Using Edge Computing

Trent Reichenbach, Chenglong Fu, Xiaojiang Du, Jia Di, Yuede Ji

Abstract: As smart home IoT systems gain popularity, they inevitably become targets for security risks and concerns. Among various cyber-attacks targeting these systems, the fake event attack poses significant issues due to its ability to manipulate secure devices through automation rules. In response to this threat, we propose TrustEvent - a system designed to offer end-to-end event signature verification. By integrating TrustEvent with existing home automation platforms, event authenticity is verified against signatures generated from edge devices before these events trigger automation rule execution. Notably, we have developed a signature proxy module, enhancing our system's compatibility across various platform scenarios. We have implemented a TrustEvent prototype in conjunction with existing commercial smart home IoT platforms, evaluating its overhead in the process. Our experimentation demonstrates that our system only marginally increases the automation execution latency, by an average of 3.74 seconds, representing a acceptable compromise for enhanced security.