SSL with ThingWorx

Introduction

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a protocol for secure communication over the internet. It is widely used to protect sensitive data such as login details, credit card information, and other personal information from being intercepted by third parties. ThingWorx is a platform for developing and deploying IoT (Internet of Things) applications.

In this tutorial, we will explore how to use SSL with ThingWorx to secure communication between devices and the applications built on the platform.

Requirements

• Understanding of IoT and ThingWorx
• Basic knowledge of SSL and its components (public/private keys, certificates, encryption, decryption)
• Access to ThingWorx platform and a device to connect to it

Steps

1. Generate SSL certificate

The first step is to generate an SSL certificate that will be used to secure communication between the device and ThingWorx platform. You can generate a self-signed certificate using OpenSSL or obtain a trusted certificate from a Certificate Authority (CA).

# Generate a self-signed certificate
mkdir mycert
openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -new -nodes -keyout ./mycert/mykey.pem -out ./mycert/myreq.pem
openssl x509 -req -in ./mycert/myreq.pem -signkey ./mycert/mykey.pem -out ./mycert/mycert.pem

2. Set up ThingWorx SSL

Next, you need to configure ThingWorx platform to enable SSL communication. You can do this by following these steps:

1. Go to System Administration > Platform Subsystems > Platform Subsystem Configuration.
2. Under Subsystems, click HTTP Transport > Properties.
3. Set the secure parameter to true.
4. Set the keystoreFile and keystorePass parameters to the path and password of your SSL certificate.

3. Configure device SSL

The last step is to configure your device to establish a secure connection with ThingWorx platform. This involves setting up the SSL certificate on the device and configuring the connection to use SSL.

// Load the SSL certificate
System.setProperty("javax.net.ssl.trustStore", "/path/to/mycert/mykey.pem");
System.setProperty("javax.net.ssl.trustStorePassword", "mypassword");

// Establish a secure connection
URL url = new URL("https://<thingworx_host>:8443/Thingworx/Things/MyThing/Properties/*");
HttpsURLConnection connection = (HttpsURLConnection) url.openConnection();
connection.setRequestMethod("GET");
connection.setRequestProperty("Content-Type", "application/json");

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have seen how to use SSL with ThingWorx to secure communication between devices and the applications built on the platform. By following the steps outlined in this tutorial, you can ensure that your IoT applications are secure and protect sensitive data from being intercepted by third parties.