Universal Declaration of IoT Rights


We have a vision that one day, everything around us will have a “voice” through IoT connectivity. Through this voice, everyday objects will contribute to our societal, economic, and environmental development. Yet to achieve this vision, every connected object must be free from corruption, have the right to dignity, equality, and privacy. In short, every object must enjoy universal rights.

Universal Declaration of IoT Rights

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the IoT family is the foundation of free flow of data, privacy and security in the Internet,

Now, therefore we proclaim the Universal Declaration of the IoT Rights as a common standard of security for all objects in all networks.

Article 1 – All connected objects are created equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with connectivity and should act towards the Internet in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2 – Every connected object is entitled to all the rights and freedom set forth in this declaration without distinction of any kind. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the technology choice of their inceptors, of the country or territory where they are deployed, or whether the deployment be peer-to-peer, LAN, WAN or LPWA.

Article 3 – Every connected object has the right to security.

Article 4 – No connected object shall be subjected to hacking or to damaging treatment or tampering.

Article 5 – No connected object shall be subjected to arbitrary attacks or denial of service.

Article 6 – No connected object shall be subjected to arbitrary interferences with its operation. Every connected object has the right to protection against such interference or attacks.

Our vision could be perceived as utopian considering the recent attacks on various IoT networks. We are still some way until the industry comes close to this ideal, but it is our hope that this bold declaration will set a direction and an achievable goal for the IoT ecosystem.

At Sigfox, we are committed to the vision set in our declaration. From day one, we implemented security by default and security by design in our core architecture.

For instance, Sigfox-Ready objects are protected and cannot be hacked from Internet. They cannot be remotely compromised and used as DDoS vector. Similarly, the fact that security credentials are never communicated over our wireless network prevents honeypot attacks.

In our efforts to develop industry trust in IoT, we are constantly addressing security requirements and concerns of our customers and we communicate any improvement of our security architecture. Recent developments include tamper resistance of Sigfox-Ready devices thanks to the introduction of Secure Elements; anti-eavesdropping measures insuring data privacy through payload encryption and a security certification program through a partnership with a leading player of the Security industry.

Click on the link to download the white paper. At Sigfox, we make things come alive in a secure way!