The Internet of Things

With every good comes a necessary evil


*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*
Slam.

It’s 6:30AM.
You stumble out of bed, grab your phone, and turn it on.

You change your clothes and head downstairs to your kitchen to make breakfast. Fortunately, your phone’s already got a head start on that. As you walk down the stairs, you hear the coffee maker automatically begin brewing your morning cup of coffee and when you reach the kitchen, the lights slowly turn on with a blue hue to gently yet effectively ease you out of your sleep. As you sit down at the counter and stretch, your phone vibrates and displays information about your commute and states that you’ll need an umbrella today. It’s going to rain. You finish your breakfast, grab your stuff, and walk into the garage. Your car is ready to go and is unlocked by NFC when you touch your phone to the wireless pad on the door.
You drive away.
This is just another morning.

The Positives

Sound pretty cool right? Well, a reality like this could easily possible with the Internet of Things (IoT for short). The Internet of Things is basically the concept of having everyday devices contain tiny computers that autonomously “talk” to each other and regulate or control things automatically or manually by a user. This would all be done through the internet. Here are a few examples of the Internet of Things in action:

  • Automatic coffee in the morning
  • Controlling home lighting with smartphone
  • Advanced home security
  • Tracking lost items
  • Energy-saving heating and cooling
  • Light city streets efficiently
  • Use electricity efficiently
  • Open/Close motor-controlled doors using a smartphone
  • DI home automation

These are just a few out of many things that the Internet of Things can do. Obviously, these are easily identifiable as being positive aspects of the IoT. Unfortunately, with cool things like automation and remote control of devices comes some negative issues.

The Negatives

One of the major negative concerns with the IoT is privacy. Many people worry that having internet-connected devices in private places (such as homes) could lead to privacy invasion if they are hacked by hackers, or simply if the controlling company of the devices (including the government) finds reason to spy on its users. Asides from privacy concerns, simply being hacked is a huge issue in itself. If you buy an internet-connected lock for your front door that does not have sufficient encryption and good enough security measures, a hacker could find a vulnerability in the lock and break into your house. The opposite could be said too — you could be locked out of your house with no means of getting back in.