Zero Trust IoT is The Building Block For Resilient Critical Infrastructure

XQ’s commitment to securing the future extends to cities, where we’re helping to integrate quantum-safe security into the future of infrastructure. Cities of the future will leverage IoT sensor networks powered by 5G to compile reams of data to enable proactive responses to urban problems. Smart cities will be a microcosm of the future, using IoT and 5G to integrate and control transport, energy, emergency services, and more.

While this will be a seismic, and positive, shift in our everyday lives, it also presents a prodigious security threat. Poorly protected IoT networks are ripe targets for cybercriminals. The data alone is a prize for thieves, but more worrying is the prospect of cybercriminals taking control of devices on the network and wreaking havoc within a city.

XQ has developed a new API-based edge-encryption architecture that simplifies protecting data for 5G IoT systems. XQ’s model encrypts data on the edge device and utilizes a cloud for key distribution. Other traditional data protection solutions in which the encrypted data and key are stored together XQ’s architecture separates data and keys as a countermeasure to data exfiltration attacks.

The API-based model requires relatively low cloud compute resources and thus easily scales to handle the needs of large IoT systems like a smart city. XQ has developed a 3 step process that ensures every IoT packet has a different key without overloading compute resources. First quantum random numbers are streamed to IoT devices to provide entropy for key generation. Next keys and security policies are posted to the XQ cloud server whilst the encrypted data is sent to the destination system. And third, destination systems are able to unlock data by presenting their credentials to the XQ cloud server.

Our API allows you to encrypt IoT data at the edge, securing your network from prying eyes. IoT packets encrypted with XQ are secured using a qRNG and NIST algorithms for quantum-resistant cryptography, meaning they are nearly impossible to break, even if infiltrators are using quantum computers. Further, encrypting the reams of data moving through IoT networks requires a light, scalable platform that grows as new devices are added. XQ seamlessly scales with you as your network grows to encompass evermore devices. XQ’s API has direct applications in all manner of IoT networks, from smart energy and manufacturing to smart logistics and cities.

XQ allows operators to send encrypted packets between 5G UE and application infrastructure. This bi-directional encryption enables secure communications across untrusted 5G RAN and CORE infrastructure.