Wireguard: An Efficient Solution for Securing IoT Device Connectivity
Haseebullah Jumakhan, Amir Mirzaeinia
TL;DR
The paper addresses securing IoT device connectivity against large-scale attacks by evaluating WireGuard as a lightweight VPN suitable for resource-constrained devices. It conducts a comparative performance study against OpenVPN and IPsec in a constrained hardware setup, using Nperf to measure throughput, latency, and jitter. Findings indicate that WireGuard delivers faster connection setup and lower jitter, but may not outperform traditional VPNs in raw throughput under the tested conditions, potentially due to MTU interactions and hardware AES-NI biases. The work suggests WireGuard has strong potential for widespread IoT VPN adoption, warranting further testing in open Internet conditions and on genuinely constrained IoT hardware to validate its practical impact.
Abstract
The proliferation of vulnerable Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices has enabled large-scale cyberattacks. Solutions like Hestia and HomeSnitch have failed to comprehensively address IoT security needs. This research evaluates if Wireguard, an emerging VPN protocol, can provide efficient security tailored for resource-constrained IoT systems. We compared Wireguards performance against standard protocols OpenVPN and IPsec in a simulated IoT environment. Metrics measured included throughput, latency, and jitter during file transfers. Initial results reveal Wireguard's potential as a lightweight yet robust IoT security solution despite disadvantages for Wireguard in our experimental environment. With further testing, Wireguards simplicity and low overhead could enable widespread VPN adoption to harden IoT devices against attacks. The protocols advantages in setup time, performance, and compatibility make it promising for integration especially on weak IoT processors and networks.