Interconnectedness of Cyber Security

Abstract

Embedded systems development has been enhanced by the improvement in the technology sector. Most of the developers of the embedded systems use cheap means for developing chips and their systems that do not have the necessary security measures. As a result, the embedded systems are left exposed to cyber-attacks. In the past, hackers did not put much concentration on the embedded systems, but their financial viability has attracted the cyber criminals. As a result, the hackers usually can easily lodge attacks on the systems due to poorly update technologies and low defense capabilities. Lack of the appropriate policies has affected the development of laws that offer more defense to the embedded systems, thus leading to more vulnerability. Embedded systems have become a part of our human life, meaning that they are a part of the human culture. 

All institutions, including the government agencies and the households use one or more embedded systems. The development of the technology has led to increased connection of the embedded systems through the Internet. Therefore, the connected systems can be easily attacked by malicious systems, such as the botnets. The world has lagged behind in the adoption of the modern defense mechanisms as the technology evolves. Actions, such as the adoption of new policies and new techniques to quell the threats, need to be adopted, which would lead safe functioning of the systems. However, international cooperation is needed if the threat to the embedded systems is to be fully eliminated.

Introduction

An embedded system refers to an interconnected function that uses a computer to perform a specific function. The system operates under the constraints of a computer because it has limits. An embedded system is different from other systems because other systems are designed to perform a variety of tasks that have no limits. In an embedded system, it is easy to manipulate its operations in order to ensure more efficient operation. It freely interacts with the physical infrastructure that influences the environment, such as the temperature and motor engines. Examples of embedded systems include alarm systems and other electric apliances used in households. The systems mainly rely on time, meaning that such system can only be efficient if it performs its designated function as per the required time.

In the past when the computers were still under early evolution, it was not possible to have embedded systems because the computers could not perform a variety of functions as today. But as the computers developed to become more flexible, programmable controllers also came to existence. The initial embedded system had the name Apollo Guidance Computer and it relied on integrated circuits to enhance its efficiency. Since then, the embedded systems have improved in their performances, functionality and their affordability. The rampant development of the new embedded systems has been enabled by the easy affordability of hardware, such as microprocessors and chips as, for example, FPGA.

The rise of embedded systems has been as a result of the increased global computer development, which has, in turn, led to the rise of interconnectivity. Through the Internet, the computers run the various physical components. The increased interconnectivity has led to the rise of security issues affecting the embedded systems because the systems can easily be attacked through the central computer controller. 

Current research paper describes the embedded systems and how the increased interconnectivity of computers using the non-traditional methods has led to increased concerns with regards to cyber security. The research paper will analyze the issue on the ethical, political, social and cultural perspectives in order to determine the implications. The research paper will also describe the evolution of the embedded systems due to the improvement of the computer technology with the aim of identifying their impacts. Finally, the paper will offer the recommendations on the actions that can be applied to curb the threat.

Cyber-Security as a Threat to National Security

According to Worldwide Threat Assessment of the United States, cyber-attacks rank as the biggest threat to the country. The reason that the cyber-threats rank so highly is that such type of attack targets a variety of essential resources, including the physical infrastructure, the information and the internal governance activities of the government. The main reason why the threat has risen is the radical development of technology in countries, such as China and Russia. The two countries are known to abuse their cyber security advantages by lodging attacks to gain economic or political advantage. The major challenge when speaking about fighting the cyber threats is that no major laws have been adopted to address the issue. Countries, such as the United States, are still relying on executive orders, which are known to be not too powerful to bring positive results. The threat was revealed when a hacktivist hacked the e-mail address of the former President George Bush and also hacked the Facebook account of the Secretary of State.

Single hackers pose a threat, but the main threat comes in the form of the rising hacktivist groups that are targeting the various infrastructure of different countries. The groups are targeting the countries’ infrastructure, such as the financial systems, and such attacks are highly regarded as state initiated attacks. The attacks are on a global perspective and when they are done, it is a guarantee that they will affect the economic situation of a nation. Modern society is mainly reliant on the digital platform to propel itself and the technological innovations are very essential. According to a survey conducted by the Defense News, 45% of the respondents cited that cyber security remains the first threat to a developed nation, such as the United States. The rise in the cyber threats has been the result of the increased interconnectedness of all the aspects that propel a nation. Almost every nation’s systems are connected to the computers for automation purposes. Services, such as the provision of electricity, water services and communication, rely on computer controlled chips, meaning that any attacks on such computers pose a threat to the human life and the existence of a country, as well.

The Evolution

The initial embedded system was referred to as the Apollo Guidance Computer. Other applications became prominent in the 1960s. Despite the fact that they were expensive and their processing power was low, they still served their purpose at the time. Another example of an embedded system developed in the period was Autonetics D-17 guidance computer that was used for military purposes. The embedded system relied on Integrated Circuits (IC), and due to their decreased prices, the development of embedded systems for commercial purposes was made possible. Other systems have been developed, including the Intel 4004 that was designed to be used in calculators. More developments enabled the replacement of the analog controllers with the updated ones. As the development continued in the 1980s, many vendors had developed the systems that could all be integrated in one chip that enabled the formation of a microcontroller.

As modern society deploys the computer use to wider fields, the increased demand and applicability of the embedded systems has also increased. Currently, embedded systems are in application in almost every sector that includes the households, industries and in the electrical appliances. As the development of the embedded systems continues growing, there is an increased need for the systems to be more reliable. The systems need to be efficient and connected with other devices to ensure the overall effectiveness. Currently, there is a tendency to connect the embedded systems in the Internet platform, leading to increased interconnectedness in all the industries and households across the globe. The increased interconnectedness has been made possible by the improvement in the technology platform. 

As explained above, the embedded systems have evolved, leading to their adoption of more automated systems that enhances their connections to the computer systems and even in the Internet platform. As a result, the interconnection and the introduction of the Internet aspect has led to the rise of concerns of the systems security. Many industries and households only concentrate on the security of their Internet information, thus disregarding the possibilities of their embedded systems being used by hacktivists to manipulate their systems. The households and industries need to realize that the manipulation of their physical infrastructure by the use of the embedded systems can result in similar losses as compared to the Internet attack.

The Security Risks Associated to Embedded Systems and Modern Technology

The society is at a risky position when it deals with protecting the embedded systems because hackers have identified that such systems are vulnerable just as the other ones. In the 1990s, there were many cases of world cyber-insecurity due to their vulnerability. Many software companies tried to keep the vulnerabilities a secret, but modern society does not have such an appropriation. Companies need to fully disclose the security threats regarding their software and computers so that fast solutions can be found.

Generally, the embedded systems are under the control of computer chips that have specific traits designed to perform the tasks allocated. Some of the manufacturers of such chips include Broadcom and Marvell. The chips are easily affordable and they are almost similar despite the different manufacturers. The manufacturers of the chips install operating systems to the chips accompanied with other devices that include drivers. They apply the basic engineering skills to develop the chips and, in most cases, the manufacturers do not put much emphasis on their security. After their manufacture, the manufacturers then develop the associated routers after the installation of the operating system. The major problem of the fast construction of the chips without applying the required engineering expertise is that the software installed on the chip is not patched. The main concern for the manufacturers is the number of chips to produce per a specified time, meaning that the maintenance of the previously produced chips is not a priority for them.

A survey done to analyze the routers in the households found out that the systems installed in the various chips were older than the chips. The systems did not also have the various security patches that could be relied to act as protection tools. The security patches are essential in the maintenance of the embedded system security due to the fact that as the systems get older, new inventions come in place and the older systems become more vulnerable. The major problem is that it becomes difficult to upgrade the security capabilities of the devices once the devices are running. The difficulty is caused by the non-availability of a source code. Even if the patches can be upgraded, no one really tries to upgrade the systems. The upgrade needs the users to download the updated software, but they rarely do so due to lack of awareness and updates. As a result, the systems become obsolete and at that situation, they can be easily accessed by the hackers.

Hackers have started identifying the vulnerability of the embedded systems focusing on the devices and the computers that control them. The hackers have developed attacking tools, such as DNS Changer, that target home routers and the computers. For example, recent studies in Brazil showed that millions of routers had been attacked. The routers could easily be used by the hackers as a way of stealing finances. Symantec has also reported a worm that uses Linux to target cameras and other devices that are embedded. Such reports portray how easy it is for the hackers to attack the embedded systems. The evolution of the Internet makes the matters worse because the domain leads to the enhancement of the interconnectivity. The major avenues of attacks are mainly the modems and routers. The two devices have a high level of vulnerability because they link users and the Internet, meaning that it is not easy to turn them off. The devices are usually more powerful in terms of their functions and due to their nature it is possible that more hackers will target them.

When the hacking problems were only concentrated on personal computers, it was possible to find solutions using the antiviruses because the manufacturers of the software could be easily put under pressure to offer the solutions. However, in the embedded systems, it is not easy because it is hard to trace the actual manufacturers due to the many vendors involved in the manufacture of just one system. The other challenge is that the viruses have become more advanced. Since the devices are not improved, it means that they are exposd to more vulnerability. The problem coupled with the deteriorating level of expertise related to handling the threats has led to their increasement. Therefore, considering that the embedded systems are not under regular updating and hackers are increasingly becoming more creative, it is conclusive to assert that the world is headed to a period of a cyber-security disaster if the necessary actions are not undertaken.

Overview of Cyber-Security Policies and the Impacts of Embedded Systems

The continuous technological advancement brings with itself the challenge of dealing with the cyber terror. The world is full of different forms of cybercrimes, ranging from the hackers interfering with the governmental systems to other using people’s computers to attack other systems. The increased attacks have prompted the development of the idea of cyber security. The current society’s cyber-attacks are aimed at accessing valuable data that will ensure that the hackers have a financial advantage. The dimension of Information Ttechnology has rampantly changed with time. People, government and industries have become attached to computers, leading to increased automation of almost all aspects of life. Almost all the activities that involve the human beings are conducted by facilities or services that have adopted the new technology.

In the past five years, the global security experts have not really come to an agreement on whether the governments have enacted measures to ensure cyber security. But they have agreed on a common issue that the increased threat to the vital mainframes is a matter of concern and it needs immediate address. Some of the experts blame the task forces that have been given the mandate to foresee cyber-security measures for not doing enough. Currently, most governments, including that of the United States, have increased their financial allocations to the cyber security sector in order to enhance the search of the associated solutions. However, the increased lack of concern and wrongly prioritizing the issues has hampered the efforts to find the solutions. Most governments are aiming at allowing to have access to all the information concerning everyone and every system in a country, so that they could adopt the necessary measures to cope with the threat. Such policy of the government means that people will need to abandon their rights to privacy for their own protection.

Considering the law making bodies, most of them have not issued the necessary laws to deal with the threat of cyber security. Most of the meetings involving the G20 summit did not result in conclusive laws and policies that will aid in enhancing international cooperation between countries. The international summits have failed to develop effective policies because the individual countries concerned have not fully adopted their respective local laws. Therefore, the ambiguity and lack of focus by the individual countries has been transmitted to the international platform, to an extent of affecting the overall global cyber-security. According to NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence, more than 50 nations have engaged in establishing strategies that can be adopted to tighten cyber security. The nations have adopted strategies that align to their national and economic objectives. However, many of them are known to adopt broad goals and they also develop strategies to reach them. However, the implementation part becomes difficult. The adoption and implementation of the policies assist in reaching the goals. Therefore, as the countries develop their individual policies, the only failing part is that their implementation has been lagging behind. 

It is normal that individual governments should start solving the global cyber security threats by ensuring that their countries implement the necessary policies. The governments are being motivated by the increased concern to secure their information and data. For example, many nations developed proposals of policies to be adopted during the purchasing process to enhance cyber security. The main challenge appears when different countries adopt different policies that lead to differences in opinions. The United States Government tried to offered the proposal of adopting an authority that would cater for the cyber security threat issues. Despite the efforts of the government, the Congress did not support the agenda. As a consequence, the government proposed the development of Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) that involves issuing laws to ensure that the essential infrastructure is protected. The continuous push by the government led to the draft being published in 2013.

Considering countries such as China, more expansive policies can be observed. China’s policy ensures a more explicit approach that has led to the adoption of a Multi-Layer Protection Scheme. The policy by the Chinese Government outline the significance of the available infrastructure and the different types of protection required for the infrastructure. Despite the specific nature of the policy, critics state that such policy defines the sensitive infrastructure and the criteria of choosing the relevant requirements. For example, the Chinese system has five levels that required different types of response. For example, a threat posed to the national security, the society structure and the economic interests of the country warrants a level III protection. Although such responses do not contradict with other countries’ policies entirely, there are some differences that are still prevalent. Another issue arising from the certification needs for the infrastructural regulations. As a result, the regulations have drawn criticism from different spheres due to the allegations that the legal requirements of the policies interfere with the intellectual property rights.

As shown above, the increment of the cyber threats has led to rising concerns among many countries and, as a result, many nations are trying to adopt cyber security policies that adopt the embedded systems dimension. The increased rise in the concern has led to many superpower countries to realize that they are still far from finding solutions to all the aspects of cyber insecurity, simply due to the lack of a common objective. Such differences between national policies has led to lack of any substantial development in the global platform regarding the cyber policies due to the differences in the individual opinions of different countries. However, looking at the impact from a positive perspective, the identification of the differences forms a new chapter that can be applied to develop the necessary solution.

Cultural, Social, Political, and Ethical Perspectives

Social Perspectives

Many parties concerned with the cyber security issues analyze it through the technical aspects which makes them forget that the cultural and the social issues also play a big role. Although the cyberspace mainly involves many technological inputs, human input is also very important. Human beings have the need of communication and it has increased its importance as the technology advancement has spread all over the world. Cyberspace activities affect human beings because they interact with them in everyday activities. Cyberspace activities enhance the social aspect of human beings by affording people increased reach to them even if they are located far away. Due to the increased accessibility of the other people, physical distance is not an issue of concern. Therefore, even cyber-attacks lodged through the Internet easily reach people just as they reach out to each other. The development of technology has created a global village.

Embedded systems and the application of the modern technology has increased the social exposure to the cyber-related activities. Most of the households in the world rely on at least one embedded system that ranges from having door bells to remote controls. As a result, such technologies have been accepted as part of the societal structure. Increased threats in the embedded systems, therefore, directly lead to increased threats on the social structure. Increased attacks on the embedded systems has led to the raise of concerns by many households and industries. Therefore, the threat to the embedded systems is a threat to the current societal norm and it will increase the risk of the interruption to the societal activities.

Apart from the interreption to the daily social life, cyber security issues has raised the doubts on the credibility of the social media, which generally forms an avenue for most human interaction. The media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter have reported cases of hacking, with the hackers aiming to collect private information for financial benefit. Other social outlets such as Gmail has also experienced similar attacks, meaning that people can no longer communicate effectively. As a result, people have become exposed because the social media have been unable to protect private data. The society can no longer be guaranteed of its privacy, which then leads to a direct threat to people’s lives. It becomes difficult to protect the social media users because botnets have found creative means to entice the users click on their links that act as their baits. Such trends in the social media has lead to increased campaigns that advocate for caution when dealing with the social media.

Cultural Perspecives

Most of the cyber activities behavior of different people depend on the people’s cultural perception of cybercrimes. In some countries, such as China, hacking is seen as a normal activity where even teenagers are involved in the activities. As a result, people in such countries grow knowing that hacking is a norm in their lives. Laws of a country can also determine the perception of the people when they deal with hacking. Different nations have varying rules that govern cybercrimes. In some countries hacking activities are legal and the same activities can be deemed illegal in other nations. If the activities are legal in a country, then the people will grow knowing that the cybercrimes are allowed. The knowledge that the people are protected by their native laws makes them develop a culture of performing the cybercrimes without fear.

Religion also plays a vital role in the cyber security issues. The difference in religion values can be portrayed when comparing the Western nations and the Middle East region. In the Middle East countries, religion forms as the guidance to human living, and the rerligion rules even shape up the the rules in the constitutions of the countries. As a result, if the religion interprets hacking to be moral, then people from these countries will commit themselves to the cyber crime activities, citing it as morally acceptable. Such an occurrence creates a cultre that views cyber crimes as moral. On the other hand, the Western nations have mixed religion beliefs and they do not attach their religious beliefs to the laws. Therefore, it would be easy to formulate a law that forbids cyber crime activities in the western countries than the Middle East countries. As a result, the cultural differences leads to the establishment of different cultures with regards to cyber security.

Culture also influences the attitudes towards cyber security issues. Some of the countries in areas such as Africa and Asia have not endorsed a lot of technological advancement, which in turn has led to them not taking too much emphasis on the issue. Therefore, people who grow in such places adopt the culture of not taking issues of cyber security seriously. Other places including the developed countries have adopted the technology and they have identified the importance of protecting their systems. As a result, taking cyber security measures will be a priority. Therefore, different cultures determine the attitude towards cyber security issues, which in turn leads to different responses.

Political Perspectives

Modern technology development has resulted in political hostility between different countries. Since the era of the Cold War ended, countries have adopted the use of technology to wage war with each others. Use of military force is not the biggest threat to a nation any more. The increased global interconnectedness has led to the development of system where many countries hare information and rely on each other in running of their daily activities. Despite the benefits the improved technology has among different nations, questions have were raised on matters concerning the intentions of some countries. Increased global connection has led to easy accessibility of the systems of other nations through illegal hacking activities. As a result, countries, such as China and Russia, have taken advantage of the increased connectivity to take a political advantage position.

Recent cyber-attack activities have been associated with countries that want to disrupt the political structure of a country for economic advantage. For example, in 2008 Russia lodged cyber-attacks against Georgia and Estonia with the aim of crippling the activities of the respective governments. The aim of the attacks was to ensure that the government could not control their military systems, thus easing Russia’s military entry to the countries. China has also been known for persistence attacks on the Government of Tibet due to Tibet’s insistence on independence. Such attacks by the countries have led to sharp criticism from other nations, such as the United States and United Kingdom, thus citing the differences of political opinions between different superpowers. 

The attacks and global criticisms of the two countries cites the political differences among some of thw world’s superpowers. Some nations do not put welfare of the individual nations before that of the world. The same case translates to he local laws where countries have been unable to form effective laws due to differences in their political ideologies. For example, in the United States, an information security bill could not pass through the congress because the democrats and republican members could not come to an agreement. As a result, most of the cyber security responses in the United States have been relying on executive orders, which are known to be not powerful enough. The political differences act as a hinderance to the adoption of national laws that can protect the nations from cyber crimes. The political differences translates to the international level and it has led to poor international policy adoption. Therefore, increased global connection due to technological advancement has led to the development of cybercrimes as a tool for some countries to gain political advantage.

Ethical Perspectives

The first perspective of cyber security regarding the ethics is related to economics. For example, the United States has continued to label China as a thief of the intellectual possessions. Despite the accusation, the economical ethicality of the cyber security issue cannot be assessed easily. Firstly, the criteria of labelling an act as theft has no basis because relevant policies to illegalize various cyber activities are not implemented. Secondly, seeing commercial data purchase and selling as theft does not put into considerations the cultural aspects relating the security of the intellectual property. Despite the numerous allegations blaming China of intellectual theft in order to gain an economic advantage, it is worth noting that other countries, such as Russia, France and Israel have also been found to engage in cyber malpractices with the aim of having an economic advantage. The difference in the objectives of the countries due to different political policies and cultural perceptions means that cyber espionage has a different view in the various countries.

The definition and legality of intellectual information differs in various nations. For example, intellectual property is viewed differently in China and the United States. In the United States, it is common for the academic papers to have many footnotes compared to the Chinese systems that requires a few footnotes. Such norms in the education system of the country promotes a culture of different perceptions when speaking about intellectual property. As a result, it would be difficult to determine the ethicality with regards to the wrong party.

Another aspect of ethics in cyber activities is the considerations of the cybercrimes acceptability level. There are some countries that allow cybercrimes to freely occur in what they cite as ethical hacking. For example, during the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to adopt the Moscow Rules and in reality the rules do not govern the cyber world. The rules helped determine the ethical boundaries of cyber activities between the two nations. The absence of such rules that are mutually agreed upon different countries can lead to different interpretation on the ethicality of some cyber activities. 

Despite the different interpretations of ethicality in cyber activities, there is a common problem in dealing with cyber threats. One of the major issues is that governments are pushing to access the private information of the citizens in order to devise a methodology of fighting back. Such move can directly interfere with the right to privacy allocations in many constitutions, meaning that the governments ant to adopt unethical measures to counter the threat. Coupled with the above ethical dilemmas, it is clear that finding an international solution to cyber threats is not a certainty. If the world adopts acceptable rules to fight cybercrimes, then there must be an alignment to the individual national laws concerning the same issue.

Handling of the Embedded Systems and Modern Technology

There are various strategies that can be adopted to ensure that the embedded systems perform efficiently and to the purpose they were developed. There are various techniques that can be adopted to ensure that the systems are not under attacks.

The first strategy involves the adoption of code morphing. The strategy originated from Italy and it refers to an automated framework that enables it to fight Differential Power Attacks. The countermeasures perform the task by the creation of multiple codes, in which only one code has the key, thus preventing the attacker from recognizing the whereabouts of the signature. Some of the industries have adopted the technique and it has proven to be successful.

The next strategy that can be embraced is the use of Trojan Horse Benchmarks. The techniques originated in the University of California. They involve tracking down the Trojan files that may already be in the systems with the aim of accessing information. The techniques involve a search algorithm using the backtracking method as a way of identifying the situation of the Trojan Horse.

Thirdly, Security First Corporation has developed a scheme that enables random generations of keys, thus leading to the creation of a series of keys. The keys are used to secure the important data in the system and then the keys use an Information Dispersal Algorithm which makes them spread to remain in hiding until the decryption is needed.

Lastly, the private and public sectors can use the two pronged security techniques to fight the threat from the hacktivists. The technique is essential because hackers are continually changing their tactics. For example, they have developed creative botnets that plague various networks. The botnets are a real threat to the embedded systems, meaning that the adoption of a creative counter technique is required. The botnets revolution has changed from using a central command to the application of peer to peer systems. The model has an algorithm that offers the protection of nodes that are within a network. The model has various lines of defense and if it detects that more than one node is infected, the model’s defense rises a notch higher. The second type of defense involves another software algorithm by analyzing the mobile traffic for the detection of any form of malware. The model also monitors all the devices in a network for any signs of a bot infection for the purpose of timely response. The model has the capability of identifying the functionality of nodes in order to determine the best defense response action.

Recommendations

The following recommendations are useful for the private and the public sectors after a critical analysis of the threats to the embedded systems due to the improved technology.

Firstly, the private and public sectors need to pressurize on the vendors of the chips that are used in the embedded systems to concentrate more on ensuring that their systems are modern and easily updatable. The use of obsolete systems has led to an increase in the vulnerability of the systems, and such pressure would lead to more secure chips and their systems.

Secondly, the public sectors are usually stakeholders in national and international business forums. The sector should use the platform to enlighten the need for adoption of strict and specific global policies which will impact the hackers. The current policy timidly addresses Internet hackers and since the hacktivists has shifted to target the embedded systems, stricter international policies need to be adopted.

National governments also need to be part of the campaign to fight cyber threats and the only way they can start it is to adopt local laws that address the issues. It is evident that many governments have adopted new laws to cramp down the cyber threats, but the national laws do not correspond to the international standards due to different views by different countries. Therefore, the individual countries need to adopt policies that are flexible and adaptable to the political standards of the other countries so that the local laws can form a base for the development of international laws.

The national governments also need to abandon their political difference and put the interest of global cyber security as their priority. The political differences lead to the adoption of varying policies of different countries, meaning that the development of common international laws is almost impossible. If the countries put the global cyber security as a priority, then it will be possible to adopt new laws that can be adopted by all countries. The reason for compromise is that cyber security can affect any country, meaning that international cooperation is the best solution.

Lastly, some of the embedded systems may be already under attacks, meaning that preventive mechanisms need to be adopted. The government could enact new laws that would enforce the embedded system vendors or users to use the techniques of defending the systems that include code morphing, Trojan Horse Benchmarks and two pronged security techniques as a way of ensuring that the installed embedded systems have the necessary defensive mechanisms. In effect, all the systems would be under protection.

Conclusion

As shown in the research paper, embedded systems cannot ensure invisibility considering cyber security. Hackers have identified that the systems can result in financial advantage and the systems are becoming increasingly vulnerable for attacks. Cyber security issues have become a matter of national importance due to the fact that most of the government operations are done through the cyber space. Fighting the cyber threats to the embedded systems has been hampered by the slow development of both national and international policies regarding the cyber security, countries’ need to update their laws and acknowledge that the embedded systems are under threat just as much as the systems in the Internet platform. The threat to the systems has increased due to the increased interconnectedness in the whole globe to an extent of the embedded systems being connected to the Internet. 

Cyber security issues are affected by different issues that include the political, social and cultural perspectives. All the above issues determine the attitude of people and a country towards responding to the issues. Ethical issues also affct the cyber security policies because it is difficult to come up with a policy that is right for all the participating countries. Embedded systems have evolved at a fast rate to an extent of many hackers targeting the sector for their financial advantage. As a result of the fast development, cyber security policies have taken a new dimension. Embedded systems have become a part of the human life due to their application in almost every household. Therefore, any interruption with the system would lead to the human life being affected. Some of the methods of fighting cyber insecurity such as sharing information are controversial because they will need the citizens to waive their right of privacy. New tactics invention by the hackers mean that the governmnets will need new methods of fighting the cyber insecurity, and it also portrays that a quick solution is needed.

The development of security measures to deal with the threats to the systems need to be adjusted to the technological development, thus the increased need for improved policies and techniques. One of the recommendations is that new policies need to be adopted at an international level and in order to achieve the objective, governments need try to ignore their political differences. New techniques, such as Trojan Horse Benchmarks and code morphing, can be used by the private and public sectors as a way of countering the cyber-attacks to the embedded systems. Therefore, unlike in the past, cyber criminals are becoming more creative and it is time to use new methods for fighting them.

 

 

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