Security and reliability challenges in future consumer devices

Consumer devices are changing from functional hardware to access points for networked services. Following this change the manufacturers must update their development strategies in order to gain the new market. The update of the development strategies includes considerations regarding low cost products (devices plus software infrastructure and end-user applications), flexible and dynamic devices and addressing the needs of service provision. One promising way to address these concerns is the provision of customisable service platforms that are reliable and, from the user's point of view, secure. For the next generation of consumer devices this means software architectures based on components will be used. The discussion below analyses these forces from the device manufacturer's viewpoint, focusing on security and reliability in component based software infrastructures for consumer devices.