In this presentation, we will describe the technical design, practical UX considerations, and the limitations imposed by designing an open-source IoT Firewall for non-technical consumers. In short, this firewall begins as an out-of-band device that replaces the home router as DHCP server. It uses this position to restructures the network, containing IoT devices in isolated subnets and setting itself as the network gateway for all IoT devices in the home. From this position, besides applying some basic firewalling, it also employs an automated form of secondary authentication via whitelisting through a companion application to effectively enforce MFA.
Joyce Mellens is young lecturer and researcher at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences, where she teaches students the foundations of computing architecture and cybersecurity. As a researcher she specializes in the Internet of Things, preferring to focus on the challenges of marrying cybersecurity with useability for consumers who don’t know what that word means.
