IS DECENTRALIZED IoT A BOON?
In this race of forming our future, it is no more controlling just our phones and computers but everything accessible in this big fat world.
Decentralized IoT is another most recent concept we hear a lot. But do you think this concept is viable? Well, this article will grant you deep bits of knowledge about the adequacy of the idea.
As discussed in the previous article “The downsides of IoT”, innovation is not all positives as they also come with flaws. The major drawback of IoT is security and centralized behaviors. To overcome such a significant disadvantage of IoT, techies came up with a thought, “Decentralized IoT”.
Before actually getting into what decentralized IoT can do, it is vital to know why centralized IoT couldn’t be on point.
RISKS OF DATA CENTRALIZATION :
IoT devices collect large amounts of information and putting away this information in a centralized way itself remains one of the significant challenges. There are few real case illustrations. One can take note of the results of putting away the client’s information insecurely. One of the significant issues with the mass harvesting of data by corporations is, it is frequently stored on centralized servers, which gives scope for hacks and leaks, driving to considerable risk to the security of the information.
IoT-analytics gives a case with a UK based telecom and internet service provider that was subjected to several cybersecurity breaches where customer’s information was exposed. Hackers were able to access and steal millions of customer’s credit cards and bank details during a sustained cyber attack.
It has been reported that millions of sleep apnea patients depend on breathing machines to induce a great night’s sleep, and the provision of such devices has ended up common practice within the insurance industry. One of the patients found that the gadget helping him breathe at night was also spying on him. As it turned out, the machines were tracking when the patients were utilizing them and sending the data not just to their doctors, but to the health insurer as well.
Also, the system administration and reporting can get slower as the data volume increments. It ought to be made beyond any doubt that appropriate and adequate computing control exists as larger records take more time to process. There’s a chance of losing all the data that the central repository goes down as the entire data is located within the same place. Also, in case, a centralized repository is utilized, intruders will have easy access to the complete information if the safeguards are breached.
WHY DECENTRALIZATION?
As the consumers being aware of the tech evolution, they have begun to demand data privacy and control.
One way to attain interoperability is by setting up decentralized architecture. Fluid interoperability was one of the essential reasons for the uncontrolled victory of the internet.
Decentralization can offer the consumers control over their private information, a secure way to connect with others, and a safe way to oversee the data. Moreover, decentralizing permits objects or gadgets to interact directly with each other and the outside world. They can also create and trade values. All the information is collected and can be exchanged in a decentralized marketplace, rather than being owned and utilized exclusively by the IoT platform.
With this in mind, if leaders within the IoT space genuinely need to realize their dreams of a hyper-interconnected world, at that point, a decentralized architecture is a clear choice and the only practical way forward.
DECENTRALIZED INTERNET, WITH SOME GLITCHES
Undoubtedly the demand for decentralization is substantial all through the world. But we should not be overly enthusiastic without considering the possible downsides of decentralization. In many cases, the problem is not so much whether a certain service should be provided by a central, regional, or local government, but rather how to organize the joint production of the service by the various levels. In some cases, such measures have large potential and could, if properly designed and implemented, necessarily make strides the efficiency of the public sector.
Decentralization measures are like some potent drugs, be that as it may: when prescribed for the relevant illness, at the suitable moment and within the correct dose, they can have the required significant effect; but within the wrong circumstances, they can harm instead of heal. For example, decentralization may lead to increases in regional disparities in health expenditures due to the absence of a mechanism to transfer resources from rich to inferior jurisdictions. A paper stated that local government health planners allocated declining proportions of their budgets to public service activities. Several research papers analyzed the dangers of decentralization and came up with some noticeable results.
Finally, as we all know, every coin has two sides. Decentralization can be a boon to specific sectors and disadvantageous in certain areas. There are grounds to be positive and optimistic about the overall impact of decentralized systems, especially when they are well-designed and implemented.
29/10/2019
