In this newsletter:
- Quick & Easy ADS Test Environment
- eSIM In Aplicom Devices
- Data Security Tips For Telematics Devices
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Quick & Easy ADS Test Environment
Want to know how to quickly get started with Aplicom Data Service (ADS) and Grafana, an open source data visualization tool, in order to display time-series data of IoT devices? We have written a short blog post about it on our home page.
This setup can be used as a quick demo and as a verification environment for ADS-based Telematics/IoT systems. Naturally, these ideas and components can also be used as a basis for actual production systems.
Installing the system is easy, and is not tied to any specific operating system. You can install the system on your local computer or on a cloud environment. Aplicom Data Service makes it easy to integrate your Aplicom telematics devices into your telematics system.
There are many existing technologies that make it easy to build Proof-of-Concept implementations and also speed up product development. Here we have used some of these technologies to enable quick start for using ADS telematics data.
Read the whole blog post here:
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eSIM In Aplicom Devices
Every now and then we are asked if we offer eSIM in Aplicom devices. Before answering the question, let’s define what eSIM is. The e in eSIM stands for embedded, meaning the SIM itself is soldered onto the printed circuit board. In terms of internal electronics, eSIM is similar to a SIM card, but it occupies less space and is more robust, since it’s soldered in place.
Technically speaking it would be possible to integrate eSIM into our products right now. However, to be worth implementing this (and the corresponding manufacturing processes), the new solution should be cheaper or have other measurable benefits over traditional SIM.
A technology called eUICC (Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Cards) that offers users the ability to change service provider over-the-air without needing to physically change the embedded SIM card itself is starting to see adoption.
While it is currently possible for us to get eUICC in standard SIM card format, the prices aren’t that great, and operator support is somewhat lacking. We believe that, once support for eUICC improves, its remote configurability functionality will be of more interest than traditional embedded SIM in the context of the devices we manufacture.
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Data security tips for telematics devices
Nowadays, more and more devices are connected to the internet. This connected infrastructure attracts intruders, who attempt to use these devices for their own malicious purposes – either by hijacking them or interfering with their operations.
Telematics devices are no different. They’re connected to the Internet via a wireless mobile communication network, which makes them subject to attacks like any other connected devices. Accessing a telematics device, even an unprotected one, involves more complicated steps than a standard consumer IoT device, but this does not prevent the possibility of malicious attacks against them.
Telematics devices can be protected by following the same basic security procedures as any other connected device. You can increase the security of your Aplicom devices significantly by following our suggestions below.
An Aplicom device generally uses two channels for communication:
Some basic measures to increase data security:
- Always change default passwords on each device.
- Disable MT (Mobile Terminated) SMS if you don’t use it.
- Install devices in places that aren’t easily accessible. Consider using a seal to detect un-authorized access attempts.
- Keep the PIN query active on the SIM, so that it can’t be stolen and used for other purposes.
- Switch off debug features in production use to avoid, for instance, mirroring of data traffic to a serial port.
Subscriptions always have separate settings for mobile originated SMS (MO) and mobile terminated SMS (MT). Thus, you can block MT SMS without affecting a device’s ability to send SMS messages.
Also, check if your operator allows limiting data communication to addresses specified by you. This service is an option available to M2M/IoT subscriptions.
For further information, please contact Aplicom Support.
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