Throwing MUD into the FOG: Defending IoT and Fog by expanding MUD to Fog network

Manufacturer Usage Description (MUD) is a proposed IETF standard enabling local area networks (LAN) to automatically configure their access control when adding a new IoT device based on the recommendations provided for that device by the manufacturer. MUD has been proposed as an isolation-based defensive mechanism with a focus on devices in the home, where there is no dedicated network administrator. In this paper, we describe the efficacy of MUD for a generic IoT device under different threat scenarios in the context of the Fog. We propose a method to use rate limiting to prevent end devices from participating in denial of service attacks (DDoS), including against the Fog itself. We illustrate our assumptions by providing a possible real world example and describe the benefits for MUD in the Fog for various stakeholders.