Unraveling the Web of IoT: The Internet of Things
The internet is one of the informative and transformative technology invented. A digital fabric woven into our lives been mainly utilized to connect people. Now, a new internet is emerging and its connecting things, hence the name, The Internet of Things (IoT). Things like people can now share their experiences with other things. The most prime example that comes to our mind is our phone. Our phone much like a person has numerous senses: it knows where you are, how it is moving, how much light is in the room, an “eye” to see its surroundings, and most important, the ability communicate wirelessly.
Early Days of IoT
The idea of adding sensor and intelligence to objects was discussed throughout the 1980s and 1990s but progress was slow because the technology wasn’t ready. Finally, the manufacturing of cheap but power-frugal processors gave way to the idea to connect up billions of devices was made possible. The early adoption of RFID tags, low-power chips that can communicate wirelessly, was a pioneer way of increasing availability of broadband internet and cellular and wireless networking. In addition, the adoption of IPv6, which provide enough IP addresses for every device the world is ever likely to need, made it possible for IoT to scale. In was in 1999 that Kevin Ashton, a British technology pioneer, coined the phrase ‘Internet of Things’.
The IoT integrates the interconnectedness of human culture — our ‘things’ — with the interconnectedness of our digital information system — ‘the internet.’ That’s the IoT. — Ashton
Examples of IoT
IoT extends internet connectivity beyond traditional devices like desktop/laptop computers, smartphones and tablets to a range of devices to communicate and interact with the external environment, all via the Internet. Through its connection to the internet, these devices can communicate with each other by sending and receiving data. Common examples of an IoT device would be: Amazon Echos, Fitbit watches, connected cars, and enhance smart parking.
IOT devices can dramatically improve our lives. For instance, say goodbye to manually operating a different device for every task. Remove the needs to carry keys by having a smart lock or from controlling your thermostat to tuning up the volume of the TV from all from your phone. Increase efficiency in by decreasing the amount of time normally spent performing the same tasks. For example, voice assistants like Google Home or Amazon’s Alexa can provide answers to your questions without you needing to pick up your phone. Smart refrigerators and Amazon Dash can facilitate convenience by reordering grocery items. Another benefit is improving our wellness where for example, wearing a smartwatch or FitBit bracelet is a great idea if to keep a healthy lifestyle in check and personalize our daily routines.
Businesses and cities can leverage IoT applications to automate tasks. An example is Barcelona, a smart city in development. The Spanish metropolis develop a municipal network of 500km of optical fiber, free WiFi routed via street lighting, and sensors to monitor air quality, parking spaces and waste bins. By tracking traffic congestion, commuter routes, or water usage, city planners would know which areas need to be expanded or further funded. Wouldn’t it be nice to access information about available street parking meters from your car while driving to your destination?
Security Concerns
Many predicted that by 2020 there will be over 50 billion devices (more than 8 devices per person) that will be able to connect to the internet and communicate with each other. You can imagine such infrastructure that is reliant on computerized systems can be vulnerable to security and privacy threats. For example, someone could theoretically hack your smart lock and gain access to your house or operate your car from a remote location. For safety measures, this duty falls upon IoT producers as well to implement protections from such cyber-attacks as well as consumers to be prepared for preventative measures or damage control. Large and documented attacks already occurred and gave us a glimpse into the possible nightmare.
Back in October of 2016, service provider Dyn was the victim of an DDoS attack. A huge portion of the internet went dark, including Twitter, the Guardian, Netflix, Reddit, and CNN. The attack was the result of an IoT botnet, made possible by malware called Mirai. The malware spread quickly as infected computers continually search the internet for vulnerable IoT devices These devices range from digital cameras to DVR players.
According to Morey Haber, Vice President of Technology of BeyondTrust, there are four IoT security lessons that businesses can take from the incident:
- “Devices that cannot have their software, passwords, or firmware updated should never be implemented.
- Changing the default username and password should be mandatory for the installation of any device on the Internet.
- Passwords for IoT devices should be unique per device, especially when they are connected to the Internet.
- Always patch IoT devices with the latest software and firmware updates to mitigate vulnerabilities.”
Privacy Concerns
With all privacy issues nowadays especially with Facebook and numerous social media sites, you can imagine a greater need to address the privacy dilemma with IoT devices. All those sensors collecting data on everything you do, it can feel like living in a Big Brother world. Imagine living in a smart home: it can tell when you wake up (thanks to your smart alarm), what radio station you listen to (thanks to your smart speaker), what type of food you eat (thanks to your smart fridge), and who visits you and passes by your house (thanks to your smart doorbell). The IoT business model not only involve selling you such products but really, it involves collecting data on you, the consumer. Therefore, privacy matter is of vital importance.
Final Thoughts
The IoT represents the growing convergence of communications and analytic technologies in the objects and tools in our current infrastructure. You can imagine this as the physical embodiment of the so called 4th Industrial Revolution. We are starting to see the shift of importance from material goods in the Industrial Age to intangible data in the Information Age.
Sources:
https://www.iotforall.com/5-worst-iot-hacking-vulnerabilities/