Secure bootstrapping concerns the processes associated with the initial provisioning of passwords, credentials, network information, and other parameters to the devices and the enterprise systems that need to be aware of the devices. When new devices are incorporated into a network, it is vital that they be distinguished as being legitimate rather than rogue or hostile devices. Secure bootstrapping consists of the security processes necessary to ensure that a new (or reintroduced) device undergoes the following:

• Registers, either directly or indirectly, its identity to the network and/or the backend systems to which it connects
• Receives knowledge of the network and backend system and server identities—this will frequently be in the form of installing default cryptographic credentials (trust anchors and trust paths)
• Receives a secure configuration that has been well vetted according to a security policy
• Receives knowledge of its network, subnet, fronting gateways, and so on, including ports and acceptable protocols

IoT devices that come preconfigured with keys or certificates embedded within the hardware by the manufacturer are the easiest to bootstrap onto the network securely. Zero-touch provisioning allows large quantities of these devices to be shipped by the manufacturer along with a manifest that contains the certificate or public key identifier mapped to the Electronic Serial Number (ESN) of the device. Deploying these devices to the network may simply involve entering the information into your management system or cloud service provider to automatically provision additional identities, certificates, and configurations.

Most IoT devices will be, by default, in a highly insecure state after manufacture, and even during shipping. In these cases, secure bootstrap processes must frequently be performed in secure facilities or rooms by personnel who have been well vetted. Of course, the measures you take to bootstrap your devices securely onto the network should be directly correlated to the risk associated with the devices being compromised prior to joining the network.