“Security, storage and ease of use continue to be front of mind for the team behind Mbed OS. With our latest release focused on secure sockets, Advanced Storage solutions for IoT Devices, and Enhanced Device Statistics APIs, in addition to resolving several bug fixes. These updates enable businesses to simplify the creation of devices needing secure connections to any cloud and lower the cost of devices requiring remote firmware upgrades. The detailed technical overview and release notes can be found on the Mbed OS releases page.
Secure sockets
Secure sockets now make it easier for businesses to make ‘secure connections’ when sending data to any cloud or server using Mbed OS, by enabling the TLS functionality for secure sockets in the background. This has been achieved by introducing native secure sockets, and TCP and UDP based protocol.
Advanced Storage solutions for IoT Devices
Allows applications to make use of the non-volatile memory found within IoT chips. Enabling storing configuration and other critical information without the need for additional storage components, reducing BoM cost for an IoT device.
Encrypted and Authenticated Storage
Many IoT devices use external memory such as SPI NOR FLASH for storing data and logs. There is a substantial risk of a security threat to businesses such as a physical attack if the data in the external memory is unencrypted.
In Mbed OS 5.11, we are enabling encryption and authentication for external memory which how provides companies with greater protection against physical attacks for their IoT devices. Solving this problem has significant value on products that do not trust the PCB and could be tampered with, making security comparable to and analogous with being on-chip.
Storage solutions for Internal memory
Several customers have asked for a storage solution that allows them to use internal MCU memory to store configuration and firmware images.
With microcontrollers getting better they now provide more performance and internal memory which is why in Mbed OS 5.11 we have developed a storage solution that allows businesses to use internal MCU memory to store configuration and firmware images and reduce the cost of bill of material (BoM) for IoT devices.
Enhanced Device Statistics APIs
Pulling valuable device stats from embedded devices is critical for any business deploying IoT devices which is why helping customers understand their IoT device is a key initiative being driven by Arm. The intention is to collect the data from embedded devices and (in the future) predict the behavior using machine learning.
Mbed-OS currently implements Device Statistics API to collect data such as Thread Info, CPU Usage, Memory Info, and System Info. In Mbed OS 5.11, we are enabling collection of advanced device stats such as Network stats, Advanced System Info, and Errors info.
To discover more about the 5.11 release or deep dive into the technical detail, please review our release notes.”