Sensor/Actuator Networks’ Security and Privacy: Issues, Challenges and Solutions

Dear Colleagues,

Internet of Things has reached the dimension of finalizing standards, and yet several applications are running using sensor networks and actuators in different domains, such as environment monitoring, health and well being, smart homes, smart manufacturing, and smart cities to mention few. Industrial players and academic researchers have been focused for several years on how to control the heterogeneity of Internet of Things devices, such as sensors, actuators, trackers, etc., on the other hand huge focus is also on security, safety, and privacy.

In fact, the infrastructure of large cities is becoming more and more vulnerable to natural and man-made disasters. Complex  Telecomunication infrastructures, critical dependencies, and unforeseen cascading effects can aggravate single hazard events to a threatening crisis of entire infrastructures. With a dense population and the critical dependency on infrastructures, such crises become serious threats to the safety and security of citizens and industries. When the "unforeseen" happens, public security arrives at its limits. Whether cyber, natural, or industrial disasters—effective risk management must be a continuous process that recognizes new threats and opportunities, in particular in relation to new technological evolutions.

Internet of Things (IoT) will have an enormous impact on our future infrastructures. In the context of safety and security, this is, at the same time, a challenge (How can we design IoT infrastructures to be secure and resilient?) and an opportunity (How can we use IoT for better safety and security?).

In particular, in urban environments, the increasing deployments of IoT technologies and the rise of sensored and automated cities are opening up new avenues of opportunities towards public safety and security. Although, there have been a number of deployments of diverse IoT systems, our understanding of these systems and their implications in the context of safety and security have only just scratched the surface.

This Special Issue aims to explore these dynamics within the scope of sensors and actuators networks in the context of security and privacy. The Special Issue solicits original and inspiring research contributions from technology experts, researchers, designers, practitioners in academia, authorities, and industry, and promises to offer the latest up to date results to share knowledge, experiences, and best practices, primarily in the following main application oriented themes:

• Models, methods and tools for testing Sensor/Actuator Networks.
• Ensuring the resilience and security of Sensor/Actuator Networks.
• Design of resilient Sensor/Actuator Networks.
• Detection, prevention, response and mitigation of cyber threats to Sensor/Actuator Networks.
• Trust and identity management in Sensor/Actuator Networks.
• Security protocols in Sensor/Actuator Networks.
• Risk analysis and management for Sensor/Actuator Networks.
• Threat modeling in Sensor/Actuator Networks
• Using Sensor/Actuator Networks for crisis and emergency management
• Sensor/Actuator Networks for threat and hazard detection
• Sensor/Actuator Networks for situation-awareness
• Sensor/Actuator Networks for crisis and emergency response
• Sensor/Actuator Networks for command and control
• Sensor/Actuator Networks for emergency forces Privacy in Sensor/Actuator Networks.
• Security and Sensor/Actuator Networks Cloudification

Prof. Hakima Chaouchi
Guest Editor

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