All you need to know about the Internet of Things (IoT)

In this article I'm going to write about a very trendy topic and something that it's growing exponentially every year. I'm talking about the Internet of thing, but, do you really understand what are people talking about when they mention IOT?

Let's try to remember for a moment, a couple of years ago we didn't have our phone connected to our car to listen to our personal playlist, our alarm clock didn't wake us up reminding us our day agenda, some of us even have a coffee maker that lets you know when your coffee is ready for you to wake up (guilty). All of this is possible due to the internet and to the devices connected with each other; this is called the Internet of Things. I found a nice definition to start writing about it:

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a system of interrelated, internet-connected objects that are able to collect and transfer data over a wireless network without human intervention. 1

Nowadays we find this very natural and we can't conceive our devices not to be connected to each other; if you buy a new car and you can't connect your phone to the radio something is wrong, right? But the concept is much bigger and has various implications, starting for all the data that is being interconnected, the security, the personal data leaked, etc. It has started a real debate among the communities and in the software engineer world.

Let's start by defining "things", this objects that "talk" to each other. It can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm animal with a?biochip transponder, an automobile that has built-in?sensors?to alert the driver when tire pressure is low or any other natural or man-made object that can be assigned an Internet Protocol (IP) address and is able to transfer data over a network.

By combining these connected devices with automated systems, it is possible to gather information, analyse it and create an action to help someone with a particular task, or learn from a process. In reality, this ranges from?smart mirrors?to?beacons in shops?and beyond. Saying this it came to my mind the movie "Minority Report" when Tom Cruise enters a GAP store and the store reading his eyes recommend him clothes or asks him about his last purchase:

This is not so far from entering from your device to Instagram or Facebook and from your cookies or your browsing history (or even conversations you had with your friends) suggests your ads and clothes.

All of the data we have on our devices and in the devices we have interconnected can be collected and studied or used to give us "more accurate" ads and personalized publicity, based on our online "food crumbs". Here comes the question, or ethical issue about the use and the privacy issue with that data we are constantly generating.

"It's about networks, it's about devices, and it's about data... IoT allows devices on closed private internet connections to communicate with others and 'the Internet of Things' brings those networks together. It gives the opportunity for devices to communicate not only within close silos but across different networking types and creates a much more connected world."2

There are more than 10 billion connected IoT devices today, experts are expecting this number to grow to 22 billion by 2025.

Increasingly, organizations in?a variety of industries are using IoT to operate more efficiently, better understand customers to deliver enhanced customer service, improve decision-making and increase the value of the business. But, how exactly does IOT works?

How does IoT work?

An IoT ecosystem consists of web-enabled smart devices that use nested systems, such as processors, sensors and communication hardware, to collect, send and act on data they acquire from their environments.?IoT devices?share the data they collect by connecting to an?IoT gateway?or other edge device where data is either sent to the cloud to be analyzed or analyzed locally. Sometimes, these devices communicate with other related devices and act on the information they get from one another.

The devices do most of the work without human intervention, although people can interact with the devices, for instance, to set them up, give them instructions or access the data. IoT can also make use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to aid in making data collecting processes easier and more dynamic and efficient due to the amount of data collected.

What technologies have made IoT possible?

While the idea of IoT has been in existence for a long time, a collection of recent advances in a number of different technologies has made it practical.

• Access to low-cost, low-power sensor technology.?Affordable and reliable sensors are making IoT technology possible for more manufacturers.
• Connectivity.?A host of network protocols for the internet has made it easy to connect sensors to the cloud and to other “things” for efficient data transfer.
• Cloud computing platforms.?The increase in the availability of cloud platforms enables both businesses and consumers to access the infrastructure they need to scale up without actually having to manage it all.
• Machine learning and analytics.?With advances in machine learning and analytics, along with access to varied and vast amounts of data stored in the cloud, businesses can gather insights faster and more easily. The emergence of these allied technologies continues to push the boundaries of IoT and the data produced by IoT also feeds these technologies.
• Conversational artificial intelligence (AI).?Advances in neural networks have brought natural-language processing (NLP) to IoT devices (such as digital personal assistants Alexa, Cortana, and Siri) and made them appealing, affordable, and viable for home use.

What are the benefits of the Internet of Things for business?

The benefits of the IoT for business depend on the particular implementation; agility and efficiency are usually top considerations. The idea is that enterprises should have access to more data about their own products and their own internal systems, and a greater ability to make changes as a result.

IoT encourages companies to rethink the ways they approach their businesses and gives them the tools to improve their business strategies.

It's not all shinny, here are some disadvantages of IoT include the following:

• As the number of connected devices increases and more information is shared between devices, the potential that a hacker could steal confidential information also increases.
• Enterprises may eventually have to deal with massive numbers -- maybe even millions -- of IoT devices, and collecting and managing the data from all those devices will be challenging.
• If there's a bug in the system, it's likely that every connected device will become corrupted.
• Since there's no international standard of compatibility for IoT, it's difficult for devices from different manufacturers to communicate with each other.

While diversity can give users countless devices to choose from, it is one of the reasons behind the fragmentation of the IoT and carries many of its security concerns. The lack of industry foresight and standardization has given rise to compatibility issues that also complicate the matter of security. The portability of devices presents a greater possibility of threats poisoning more than one network. Compounding to these concerns are other factors that IoT security must address.

There are many factors that make IoT security critical today.

Threats and risks

IoT security is critical because of the expanded?attack surface?of threats that have already been introduced in the networks. Adding to these threats are insecure practices among users and organizations who may not have the resources or the knowledge to best protect their IoT ecosystems. These security issues include the following:

• Vulnerabilities.?Vulnerabilities are a large problem that constantly attack users and organizations. One of the?main reasons IoT devices are vulnerable?is because they lack the computational capacity for built-in security. Vulnerable standard components also affect millions of devices. Aside from the devices themselves, vulnerabilities in web applications and related software for IoT devices can lead to compromised systems. Malware operators are on the lookout for such opportunities and are knowledgeable even about older vulnerabilities.
• Malware.?Despite the limited computing capacity of most IoT devices, they can still be infected by malware. This is something cybercriminals have used to great effect in the past few years.?IoT botnet malware?are among the most frequently seen variants, as they are both versatile and profitable for cybercriminals.
• Escalated cyberattacks.?Infected devices are often used for distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Hijacked devices can also be used as an attack base to infect more machines and mask malicious activity, or as an entry point for lateral movement in a corporate network. While organizations may seem like the more profitable targets, smart homes also see?a surprising number of unforeseen cyberattacks.
• Information theft and unknown exposure.?As with anything dealing with the internet, connected devices increase the chances of exposure online. Important technical and even personal information can be unknowingly stored and targeted in these devices.
• Device mismanagement and misconfiguration.?Security oversights, poor password hygiene, and overall device mismanagement can assist in the success of these threats (not updating your system for example, most updates have security updates based on known attacks). Users may also simply lack the knowledge and the capability to implement proper security measures (great topic for a future article), where in service providers and manufacturers may need to help their customers achieve better protection.

But aren't there privacy implications too?

Everything that's connected to the internet can be hacked, IoT products are no exception to this unwritten rule. There's also the issue of surveillance. If every product becomes connected then there's the potential for unbridled observation of users, even more with AI (artificial intelligence) and face recognition. If a smartwatch can detect when you're running, outside your home, what is to stop people with that data using it against the watches' wearer?

“In the future, intelligence services might use the "Internet of Things" for identification, surveillance, monitoring, location tracking, and targeting for recruitment, or to gain access to networks or user credentials,” 3?

This reminded me of a TV serie aired form 2011 to 2016 called Person of Interest, where a former CIA agent and wealthy programmer saves lives through surveillance AI that sends them the identities of civilians involved in impending crimes. It was thought to be far in the future, is it really?

Thank you very much for reading this article, a little longer than usual, but the topic is very interesting too. Hope I made you think a little bit, and next time you are using an IOT device think before connecting it to any network, and the data you are passing though that device.

See you on my next article.

Quotes

1. https://www.aeris.com/in/what-is-iot/
2. Caroline Gorski, the head of IoT at?Digital Catapult
3. James Clapper, the US direction or national intelligence, 2016.