Integrating Field Devices into IoT Infrastructure: X.509 Authentication and TPM Modules

Re-generating Storage Root Keys: Ensuring Device Security and Ownership Transfer

Question

After the acquisition of an environment monitoring infrastructure from a local operator, you need to integrate hundreds of their field devices into your company's IoT infrastructure.

Most of the devices use X.509 authentication but there are some device types that are secured with TPM modules.

After all the devices have been transferred to your ownership, you need to ensure that the previous owner won't have any access to the devices.

You decide to re-generate the storage root keys of the devices.

Is that the action you should take?

Answers

Explanations

Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer

A. B.

Correct Answer: A.

Option A is CORRECT because it is the storage root key (SRK) that is used to identify the owner of the device.

It works like a password that can be (and should be) changed when a TPM device is transferred to a new owner.

The new owner can take ownership of the TPM by generating a new SRK, thus ensuring that the previous owner can't use the TPM.

Option B is incorrect because changing (re-generating) the device's SRK is the recommended way of preventing the previous owner from accessing the device any longer.

Reference:

Yes, re-generating the storage root keys of the devices is the action that should be taken to ensure that the previous owner won't have any access to the devices.

X.509 is a standard for digital certificates, which are used for authentication and secure communication between devices. TPM (Trusted Platform Module) is a hardware-based security solution that provides secure storage of keys and other sensitive data. Both X.509 and TPM provide a way to secure devices and protect them from unauthorized access.

When you acquire the environment monitoring infrastructure from the local operator, you become the owner of the devices. To ensure that the previous owner doesn't have any access to the devices, you need to re-generate the storage root keys. The storage root keys are used to sign the certificates used for authentication and secure communication. By re-generating the storage root keys, you are essentially revoking the previous owner's access to the devices and ensuring that only authorized parties have access.

Re-generating the storage root keys will require you to issue new certificates for the devices, which will require some effort and planning. However, this is a necessary step to ensure the security of the devices and protect them from unauthorized access.

In summary, re-generating the storage root keys of the devices is the action that should be taken to ensure the security of the devices and protect them from unauthorized access by the previous owner.