With the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, ensuring their security has become paramount. Device identification (DI), which distinguishes IoT devices based on their traffic patterns, plays a crucial role in both differentiating devices and identifying vulnerable ones, closing a serious security gap. However, existing approaches to DI that build machine learning models often overlook the challenge of model generalizability across diverse network environments. In this study, we propose a novel framework to address this limitation and evaluate the generalizability of DI models across datasets collected within different network environments. Our approach involves a two-step process: first, we develop a feature and model selection method that is more robust to generalization issues by using a genetic algorithm with external feedback and datasets from distinct environments to refine the selections. Second, the resulting DI models are then tested on further independent datasets in order to robustly assess their generalizability. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method by empirically comparing it to alternatives, highlighting how fundamental limitations of commonly employed techniques such as sliding window and flow statistics limit their generalizability. Our findings advance research in IoT security and device identification, offering insights into improving model effectiveness and mitigating risks in IoT networks.
While the use of the Internet of Things is becoming more and more popular, many security vulnerabilities are emerging with the large number of devices being introduced to the market. In this environment, IoT device identification methods provide a preventive security measure as an important factor in identifying these devices and detecting the vulnerabilities they suffer from. In this study, we present a method that identifies devices in the Aalto dataset using Long short-term memory (LSTM)
While the use of the Internet of Things is becoming more and more popular, many security vulnerabilities are emerging with the large number of devices being introduced to the market. In this environment, IoT device identification methods provide a preventive security measure as an important factor in identifying these devices and detecting the vulnerabilities they suffer from. In this study, we present a method that identifies devices in the Aalto dataset using the convolutional neural network (CNN).
Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices are known to be the source of many security problems, and as such, they would greatly benefit from automated management. This requires robustly identifying devices so that appropriate network security policies can be applied. We address this challenge by exploring how to accurately identify IoT devices based on their network behavior, while leveraging approaches previously proposed by other researchers. We compare the accuracy of four different previously proposed machine learning models (tree-based and neural network-based) for identifying IoT devices. We use packet trace data collected over a period of six months from a large IoT test-bed. We show that, while all models achieve high accuracy when evaluated on the same dataset as they were trained on, their accuracy degrades over time, when evaluated on data collected outside the training set. We show that on average the models' accuracy degrades after a couple of weeks by up to 40 percentage points (on average between 12 and 21 percentage points). We argue that, in order to keep the models' accuracy at a high level, these need to be continuously updated.
Device identification is one way to secure a network of IoT devices, whereby devices identified as suspicious can subsequently be isolated from a network. In this study, we present a machine learning-based method, IoTDevID, that recognizes devices through characteristics of their network packets. As a result of using a rigorous feature analysis and selection process, our study offers a generalizable and realistic approach to modelling device behavior, achieving high predictive accuracy across two public datasets. The model's underlying feature set is shown to be more predictive than existing feature sets used for device identification, and is shown to generalize to data unseen during the feature selection process. Unlike most existing approaches to IoT device identification, IoTDevID is able to detect devices using non-IP and low-energy protocols.