As mentioned earlier, key management is challenging. Let’s take a look at how challenging key management can be. Take, for example, the ZigBee protocol. There are three primary types of keys that can be employed within the ZigBee network. Master keys are often preinstalled by the vendor and protect the exchange between two ZigBee nodes as they generate link keys. Link keys support node-to-node communication and network keys support broadcast communication.

Key management functions might be built into the media management software of utility, for example, and it might be provided as standalone software. However, all of these keys need to be sufficiently secured across their entire lifecycle.