Updating the firmware and software of IoT devices and gateways for adding or upgrading security features is quite challenging in itself. This process is sometimes called Firmware Over The Air (FOTA).

Since the number of devices can be huge, it becomes difficult to keep track of current software/firmware versions of all the devices and what updates are available for all of them. There can be different types of devices present in the same network that runs completely different software and firmware, which can increase the complexity of the upgrade process.

In some cases, the devices are in a completely different network that supports different protocols, which is an added challenge to the existing ones.

Many of the devices may not have a FOTA facility, so the device needs to be upgraded by a technician at the device location itself or by getting the device to the service station. This causes the device to be absent from the network completely, which might impact the business and is not favorable.

In the case of consumer devices, the right to update the device software is left with the owner and if the owner opts out of upgrading, the device might be left prone to attacks.

Another case is when the device is manufactured by some third-party vendor and they stop producing that particular model, even in this case it throws a challenge to upgrade.

The solution for most of these issues is to have a device manager application that keeps a record of all the devices, along with their software and firmware versions. For devices that have a FOTA facility, the device manager application automatically upgrades the device whenever there is a newer version available and in case the upgrade fails, it rolls back to a previous stable version of the software.

For the devices that don't have FOTA, keep the software simple and minimal, to perform the basic actions required, and the rest of the complex computation can be done using gateway devices to which it connects, and a gateway device enables connectivity to the internet. The gateway devices are more sophisticated and have FOTA as well.