Security Review: ASIMO Robot
ASIMO is a robot that resembles a human that is created by Honda Motor Company. It was created at the Wako Fundamental Technical Research Center in Japan. The current version of this robot is version eleven. This robot, which is about four feet tall, looks like an astronaut wearing a backpack and it can walk and run on two feet. In addition, there are various features that ASIMO can perform. For example, it can recognize moving objects, postures and gestures, and environments. Therefore, it can react under various situations. In addition, ASIMO has facial recognition capabilities and distinguish sounds. It can also find information such as weather report by connecting to the Internet or greet and guide visitors given that they are valid visitors in the user’s network. Assuming ASIMO robots will be able to work as security guards in the future, here is the security review for the robot.
Asset/Security Goal:
Depending on where the ASIMO robots are working at, the assets will varies. For example, if they are working at a company, all the confidential information and trade secrets will be a company assets and it would be the ASIMO robots’ job to protect them. Also, the employees’ lives are another asset that the robots must protect. If the ASIMO robots are guarding at a museum, then the artworks would be the assets and the goal is to keep them from getting stolen or damaged.
Adversaries/Threat:
One potential adversary might be a competitor of the company. They might want to find out trade secrets or other confidential information from the company by taking control of the ASIMO robot to steal information remotely. Another adversary is a disgruntle employee of the company. S/he might hate the company and want to harm the company by stealing the trade secrets or confidential information by using the ASIMO robots. In addition, since the ASIMO robots can search for information through user’s network or the Internet, adversaries can send false information to the ASIMO so that the integrity of the answers by ASIMO robot is compromise.
Potential Weaknesses:
Because they have Internet connectivity feature, it is very possible that adversaries and do the following:
-Send false information to the robot while the robot is trying to find a certain answer. This will compromise the integrity of the answers from the robot.
-Through wireless to try to look at what the camera is viewing. This will compromise the confidentiality of the assets in the company.
-Take control of the robot through wireless network to steal/harm assets. Assuming that it is possible to break into the component that controls the ASIMO, then the adversaries can make the robot do whatever they want.
-Unless they find new ways to make a tough exterior, the current ASIMO robot is not very durable. If they are going to be security guards, then the robot needs to be more durable.
-Their battery power last less than one hour. This dramatically limits the distances that ASIMO can travel.
Potential Defenses:
With the weaknesses mentioned above, there are various defenses to prevent adversaries from attacking. The following are possible defenses:
-Use encryptions to protect the integrity of the messages sending between the ASIMO and the user’s network or the Internet. This way, the confidentiality of the information will not be compromise.
-Completely separate the unit that accesses the cameras from the units that connects to the user’s network or the Internet. Since the feature for facial recognition might need information from the user’s network, only let the data goes one way from user’s network to the cameras.
-Similar to the last defense, have the units that controls the actions of the robot be separated from the wireless network. This will ensure that the ASIMO cannot be control remotely. Another option would be encrypt all the information that is being send from every component to every other component. This will prevent adversaries from sending commands to the robots to try to control it.
-Use more durable materials to strengthen the exterior of the ASIMO robot. For example, thicker metal or titanium might be more durable. Also, it would be advantageous to the robots can have exterior that can withstand gunfire.
-Either have more ASIMO robots to rotate shifts for find ways to lengthen the battery life. This will help prevent adversaries’ attack while the robots for recharging their batteries.
Risk Analysis:
Assuming the ASIMO robots will start working at companies or work as security guards, the potential weaknesses mentioned above draws serious threats to the assets. For example, trade secrets can be reveal or stolen. Assets such as valuables or lives are at stake. The confidentiality and the integrity of these assets are very important. Therefore, the risks are extremely high. Also, as technology advances, the ASIMO robot will be able to start working along side with human. However, there is a bigger issue. Since nothing is secure, is it a good idea to have robots working in companies? If one of them got taken over by an adversary, then it is possible all the assets within the company will be compromised. Also, if robots start taking these jobs, what kind of jobs will be available still for human?
Conclusion:
The ASIMO robot is a great technology that will someday be able to help companies to do some of the jobs. However, if the ASIMO robots can get taken over by adversaries, it will be a disaster. All the potential weaknesses can compromise the assets and unless the potential defenses are incorporated into ASIMO robots, I would not feel safe having them working in my company right now. However, as technology improves, I believe these problems can be solved and someday human will have coworkers that are machines.
http://world.honda.com/news/2005/c051213.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASIMO