For IoT and Edge
Designed for decentralized, heterogeneous, and intermittently connected environments where devices need local security decisions.
Overview
SST centers on Auth, a local point of authorization that authenticates registered entities and bridges authorization between local devices and the wider Internet.
For Developers
Includes Auth software, C/JavaScript APIs, Python/C++ examples, and sample entities to help teams prototype secure systems.
For Researchers
Provides open repositories for experiments, formal security analysis, LiFi-based authentication, and applied storage security work.
Quick Start
This starter flow points new users to the main Auth repository and the sample entity code. Replace these placeholders with exact commands as the website matures.
Install Prerequisites
Prepare OpenSSL, Java 11+, Maven, Node.js, and a Java IDE for Auth development.
Build Auth
Use the Java implementation under the main `iotauth` repository to configure and run local Auth services.
Run Examples
Explore sample local entities and scripts under `examples` and `entity` to exercise authentication and authorization flows.
Extend SST
Integrate the C API, JavaScript entities, or research artifacts into new decentralized system prototypes.
Repositories
The IoTAuth GitHub organization hosts the website, Auth implementation, APIs, examples, experiments, and related research projects.
iotauth
Main repository for the Java implementation of Auth and sample entity code for SST authentication and authorization.
sst-c-api
SST API in C language with examples in C/C++ for integrating SST into native systems.
iotauth.github.io
Public website for promoting Secure Swarm Toolkit, documentation, publications, videos, and project updates.
security_analysis
Formal security analysis artifacts for studying SST protocols and security properties.
iotauth_experiments
Experimental code and evaluation artifacts related to SST and IoTAuth research.
lifi-auth
Repository for physical presence-based authentication using LiFi.
SHIELD
Fork of SHIELD, applying security ideas to encrypted persistent data for LSM key-value storage.
.github
Organization-level profile and community files for the IoTAuth GitHub organization.
Publications
Selected SST and IoTAuth publications, with links to paper pages, PDFs, proceedings entries, or related project artifacts.
SST Core Papers
- A Toolkit for Construction of Authorization Service Infrastructure for the Internet of Things Hokeun Kim, Eunsuk Kang, Edward A. Lee, and David Broman. In Proceedings of the 2nd ACM/IEEE International Conference on Internet-of-Things Design and Implementation (IoTDI), Pittsburgh, PA, April 18-21, 2017. ACM/IEEE Best Paper Award.
- A Secure Network Architecture for the Internet of Things Based on Local Authorization Entities Hokeun Kim, Armin Wasicek, Benjamin Mehne, and Edward A. Lee. In Proceedings of the 4th IEEE International Conference on Future Internet of Things and Cloud (FiCloud), Vienna, Austria, August 22-24, 2016.
- Authentication and Authorization for the Internet of Things Hokeun Kim and Edward A. Lee. IEEE IT Professional, Volume 9, Issue 5, October 2017.
- Securing the Internet of Things via Locally Centralized, Globally Distributed Authentication and Authorization Hokeun Kim. Ph.D. Dissertation, EECS Department, University of California, Berkeley, Technical Report No. UCB/EECS-2017-139, August 2017.
Access Control of Agentic AI using SST
- Access Controlled Website Interaction for Agentic AI with Delegated Critical Tasks Sunyoung Kim and Hokeun Kim. In Proceedings of the ACM Web Conference (WWW) 2026, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 29 - July 3, 2026.
- A Case Study on Delegating Critical Tasks to Agentic AI and Prototype Access Control Methods Sunyoung Kim and Hokeun Kim. In Proceedings of the IEEE 5th Cyber Awareness and Research Symposium 2025 (CARS'25), Grand Forks, ND, October 27 - 30, 2025.
Storage and File System Security Using SST
- Secure and Lightweight Access Control for Highly Decentralized and Distributed File Systems Yeongbin Jo, Yunsang Cho, and Hokeun Kim. In Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on Middleware for the Computing Continuum (Mid4CC '23), ACM, Bologna, Italy, December 11, 2023.
- SHIELD: Encrypting Persistent Data of LSM-KVS from Monolithic to Disaggregated Storage Viraj Thakkar*, Dongha Kim*, Yingchun Lai, Hokeun Kim, and Zhichao Cao. In Proceedings of ACM Conference on Management of Data (SIGMOD), Berlin, Germany, June 22 - 27, 2025. (* Equally contributed lead authors.)
Resilience of SST Against Cyberattacks
- SST Testbed: An Experimental Platform of Attacks and Defenses for Networked Embedded Systems Carlos Beltran Quinonez, Dongha Kim, and Hokeun Kim. In Proceedings of the 27th IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT), Monterrey, Mexico, March 4 - 6, 2026. 1st place at ESSC, ESWEEK '25.
- Resilient Authentication and Authorization for the Internet of Things Using Edge Computing Hokeun Kim, Eunsuk Kang, David Broman, and Edward A. Lee. ACM Transactions on Internet of Things, Volume 1, Issue 1, March 2020.
- Creating a Resilient IoT With Edge Computing Hokeun Kim, Edward A. Lee, and Schahram Dustdar. IEEE Computer, Volume 52, Issue 8, August 2019.
- An Architectural Mechanism for Resilient IoT Services Hokeun Kim, Eunsuk Kang, David Broman, and Edward A. Lee. In Proceedings of the 1st ACM Workshop on Internet of Safe Things (SafeThings 2017), Delft, The Netherlands, November 5, 2017.
SST Programming Model and Integration
- A Case Study of API Design for Interoperability and Security of the Internet of Things Dongha Kim, Chanhee Lee, and Hokeun Kim. In Proceedings of the 2nd EAI International Conference on Security and Privacy in Cyber-Physical Systems and Smart Vehicles (SmartSP), New Orleans, LA, November 7 - 8, 2024.
- SST v1.0.0 with C API: Pluggable security solution for the Internet of Things Dongha Kim, Yeongbin Jo, Taekyung Kim, and Hokeun Kim. SoftwareX, Volume 22, Article 101390, May 2023.
- Secure Programming Platform for Edge-Based IoT Hokeun Kim. In Proceedings of the 26th Forum on specification and Design Languages (FDL 2023), Turin, Italy, September 13-25, 2023.
More Papers on SST
- Contextual Callbacks for Resource Discovery and Trust Negotiation on the Internet of Things: Work-in-Progress Marten Lohstroh, Hokeun Kim, and Edward A. Lee. In Proceedings of the ACM SIGBED International Conference on Embedded Software (EMSOFT), Seoul, Korea, October 15-20, 2017.
- Poster Abstract: Securing Edge-Based Real-Time IoT Systems Dongha Kim and Hokeun Kim. In Proceedings of the 21st ACM Conference on Embedded Networked Sensor Systems (SenSys'23), Istanbul, Türkiye, November 15, 2023.
- Empirical Analysis of Security Vulnerabilities in Open Source Software Using Static Analysis Tools Donghoon Kim and Hokeun Kim. In Proceedings of the IEEE 5th Cyber Awareness and Research Symposium 2025 (CARS'25), Grand Forks, ND, October 27 - 30, 2025.
Contributors
Current and former contributors listed from the public IoTAuth project overview, with links to public profiles where available.
Current Active Contributors Active
- Hokeun KimAssistant Professor, Arizona State University
- Dongha KimPh.D. Student, Arizona State University
- Carlos Beltran QuinonezM.S. Student, Arizona State University
- Sunyoung KimUndergraduate Student, Arizona State University
- Jose FelixM.S. Student, Arizona State University
- Kushal PaliwalM.S. Graduate and Volunteer Researcher, Arizona State University
Former Contributors Former
- Salomon LeeCTO, AlcaCruz Inc.
- Eunsuk KangAssociate Professor, Carnegie Mellon University
- Marten LohstrohCEO, Xronos Inc.
- Taekyung KimCommissioned Officer, Republic of Korea Army
- Yeongbin JoEmbedded Software Engineer, Hyundai Rotem
Videos and Demos
Selected videos related to SST, IoT security, cyber-physical systems security, and the surrounding research ecosystem.
- SST Testbed: Attacks and Defenses for Networked Embedded Systems Released August 30, 2025. Demo video for the SST Testbed project, winner of 1st place in the Embedded System Software Competition at ESWEEK '25.
- Security and Safety of Internet-Connected Critical Infrastructure Recorded May 23, 2025. UC Irvine seminar talk on security and safety for Internet-connected critical infrastructure.
- Security vs. Accessibility Tradeoffs in Reactive Systems Recorded March 26, 2025. Presentation at a Lingua Franca weekly research meeting.
- Security and Safety of Internet-Connected Cyber-Physical Systems Recorded October 28, 2024. IEEE CARS '24 keynote talk on connected critical infrastructure, security, and safety.
- Dissertation Talk: Securing the Internet of Things via Locally Centralized, Globally Distributed Authentication and Authorization Recorded April 28, 2017. Technical talk covering the core architecture behind SST and IoTAuth.
Build with SST
Explore the repositories, run the examples, cite the research, and contribute improvements through GitHub.