Timeframe
Background
In 2020 NSTIx was formed as an initiative across Her Majesty’s Government to learn the benefits of co-creation and what it takes to form a team across government, academia and industry. An experiment was devised to test out the idea by developing a team to consider a challenge for the Cyber Co-Creation Space. The team consisted of the University of Bristol, Ioetec (also an NCSC for Startups alumni) and Configured Things.
Problem
Whenever data is collected, there are typically more than a single class of users that wish to access the dataset. However, not every class of user has the equivalent need, want, or authorisation to access data at the same resolution or frequency. Further, some users likely should not be allowed to request analytics that correlate with other datasets, or datapoints over time.
This problem is particularly acute in streaming data such as in systems supporting operational needs like a Connected Place’s control room. In such an environment these systems are not just multi-user but multi-tenanted, adding further complexity to the requirements for data privacy and what sharing should be allowed. These systems require the policy to be enforced in the live data stream.
Solution
The Securely sharable LoRaWAN Edge Device (SLED) is a software layer that interacts with a source of time-series data (for example a LoRaWAN application server) on one side to obtain the data that flows from the LoRaWAN devices, and with the users requiring access to the data on the other.
LoRaWAN is a low power wide area networking (LPWAN) technology that is rapidly being adopted across industries including Connected Places.
The SLED layer provides storage of data for a limited time to allow users to collect historic data, and it applies some simple data transformation and filtering to help reduce overall traffic from the SLED software. Further, the SLED allows the administrator to limit access to the data for a specific user for privacy and security reasons. This mitigates the misconfiguration threats associated with generalised interfaces shared by multiple users.
As the name implies, originally SLED was envisaged as an appliance in close association with the LoRaWAN stack at the ‘edge’ of the IoT system, but the same approach can also be applied as a software service that can be used in multiple contexts.
This work was presented at InfluxDays EMEA 2021 and the following is recording of the presentation:
About Configured Things
Configured Things is a Bristol based startup formed in 2018, spun out of Hewlett Packard Labs. We create products and solutions that address the challenges of managing systems and data across trust boundaries. We are alumni of the NCSC for Startups program, and retain a close working relationship with the NCSC and other government agencies.
If you would like to hear further about this work or our solutions generally, please contact: getconfigured@configuredthings.com
