Project Rationale - KRechowicz/About_CCI_Application GitHub Wiki

Project Abstract

Project Rationale

The home of the future is already here. Modern Western homes are increasingly equipped with smart and connected devices. Kitchens, offices and entertainment centers have devices that communicate with the Internet and each other through a complex network. Today, Internet-of- Things (IoT) devices monitor, enhance and support homeowners in activities ranging from shopping, to driving, to promoting energy efficiency. In addition, homeowners often carry and wear connected devices that help them communicate, maintain their health, or monitor physical activity. Soon, this proliferation of sensors will increase with the popularization of smart vehicles and intelligent transportation systems to the point where everyone will be always connected to effectively operate in any environment (work, entertainment, etc.). This multiplication of sensors brings into the home a multitude of multimodal interfaces (voice, web, tactile), hidden tracking, embedded automation, and adaptive learning. As a result, the home of the future is a massive data collection ecosystem that can be misused for economic and financial gain and is vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The homeowner is often unaware of the data being collected or the security risk they face by introducing a new device in their living space. As a result, there is a deficit of trust between smart and connected spaces and the people occupying the space. This deficit of trust has a critical impact. While the goal of a smart home is to adapt to and support its occupants, current devices and algorithms are not trusted to adapt to the diversity of experience, background, preferences, and physical ranges routinely encountered in real life. As a result, the experiences of people on a spectrum (hearing, vision, physical/motor, autism) are often not effectively accommodated. The solution is to increase trust between the people, connected objects, and the companies that make them. We propose creating, implementing, and testing a cyber-trust framework that takes into account the 1) manufacturer, configuration and interoperability of devices in a home, 2) the experience, background and position on individuals occupying the space on a spectrum (hearing, vision, physical/motor, and autism) and 3) the content, type, and amount of data being collected, whether disclosed or undisclosed. We expect that conducting this fundamental research will lead to breakthroughs in CPS security (CPSS), contributing to the CCI mission of establishing Virginia as a global leader in secure CPS and in the digital economy as follows:

  1. The research will advance the design of inclusive cyber physical systems and allow researchers in the medical and healthcare domain to investigate the use of connected homes to improve the lives of citizens. We expect that advances in design fostered by our initial research will improve the usability of connected devices overall.
  2. The framework will be implemented into a proof of concept application that will be matured and transitioned into market. If successful, the application can create jobs in the Commonwealth. To that end, we have partnered with a Virginia-based small business to ensure that the proof of concept meets market needs.
  3. The research will create a future home cyber testing range where issues such as security and resilience can be tested. This range will be a virtual reality environment with live and emulated Internet-of-Things devices that can be configured and reconfigured to test different scenario options.
  4. The range can be used to train the general public on the dangers and pitfalls of introducing new devices into a home space. It can also be used by smaller companies to train their personnel in an immersive experiential learning environment on the importance of practicing safe cyber behaviors.

Project Sponsor Information/Requirements

COVA CCI