Hardware security modules for secure communications in the industrial Internet of Things

Latif, Shahid; Djenouri, Djamel; Idrees, Zeba; Ahmad, Jawad; Mastoi, Qurat-ul-ain; Zou, Zhuo

Abstract

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) offers transformative potential but introduces critical security risks, including unauthorized access, data breaches, and privacy compromise. Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) have emerged as robust solutions to protect IIoT ecosystems by enabling secure cryptographic operations, providing tamperresistant hardware and creating trusted execution environments. This work presents the first comprehensive review of HSMs tailored for secure IIoT communications, addressing their architectural foundations, operational mechanisms, and deployment scenarios. It first outlines the IIoT security landscape and HSM deployment architectures, including cloud-based, edge-integrated, and distributed models. Next, cutting-edge HSM implementations are analyzed, emphasizing their effectiveness in authentication, secure communication protocols, and physical tamper resistance. It then explores attack surfaces and vulnerabilities, such as firmware exploits, logical flaws, and network-based threats, along with mitigation strategies. Case studies from smart manufacturing, energy grids, and logistics demonstrate practical HSM applications, while a comparative evaluation assesses commercial and open-source solutions based on performance, compliance, and scalability. Emerging trends such as AI-driven threat detection, post-quantum cryptography, and decentralized HSMs are also discussed. Finally, key challenges are highlighted, including latency in real-time systems, supply chain risks, and regulatory hurdles, and future directions for research and industry adoption are proposed. This work serves as a roadmap for securing IIoT deployments, offering actionable insights for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 12, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Aug 18, 2025
• Deposit Date: Aug 21, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 19, 2025
• Journal: IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials
• Print ISSN: 1553-877X
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/comst.2025.3600161
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/14831174
• Publisher URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11129101