Internet of Things (IoT)

What is IOT ?

The internet of things, or IoT, is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.

A?thing?in the internet of things can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm animal with a?bioship transponder, an automobile that has built-in?sensors?to alert the driver when tire pressure is low, or any other natural or manufactured object that can be assigned an Internet Protocol (IP) address and can transfer data over a network.

Increasingly, organizations in various 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.

How does IoT work?

An IoT ecosystem consists of web-enabled intelligent devices that use embedded systems, such as processors, sensors, and communication hardware, to collect, send and act on data they acquire from their environments.?IoT devices?share the sensor 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.

The connectivity, networking, and communication protocols used with these web-enabled devices largely depend on the specific IoT applications deployed.

IoT can also make use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to aid in making data collecting processes easier and more dynamic.

Why is the Internet of Things (IoT) so important?

Over the past few years, IoT has become one of the most important technologies of the 21st century. Now that we can connect everyday objects—kitchen appliances, cars, thermostats, baby monitors—to the internet via embedded devices, seamless communication is possible between people, processes, and things.

By means of low-cost computing, the cloud, big data, analytics, and mobile technologies, physical things can share and collect data with minimal human intervention. In this hyperconnected world, digital systems can record, monitor, and adjust each interaction between connected things. The physical world meets the digital world—and they cooperate.

What are IoT applications?

Business-ready, SaaS IoT Applications

IoT Intelligent Applications are prebuilt software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications that can analyze and present captured IoT sensor data to business users via dashboards. We have a full set of?IoT Intelligent Applications.

IoT applications use machine learning algorithms to analyze massive amounts of connected sensor data in the cloud. Using real-time IoT dashboards and alerts, you gain visibility into key performance indicators, statistics for mean time between failures, and other information. Machine learning–based algorithms can identify equipment anomalies and send alerts to users and even trigger automated fixes or proactive countermeasures.

With cloud-based IoT applications, business users can quickly enhance existing processes for supply chains, customer service, human resources, and financial services. There’s no need to recreate entire business processes.

IoT Security Issues

1. Public Perception:?If the IoT is ever going to truly take off, this needs to be the first problem that manufacturers address. The 2015 Icontrol State of the Smart Home study found that 44% of all Americans were “very concerned” about the possibility of their information getting stolen from their smart home, and 27% were “somewhat concerned.” With that level of worry, consumers would hesitate to purchase connected devices.
2. Vulnerability to Hacking:?Researchers have been able to hack into real, on-the-market devices with enough time and energy, which means hackers would likely be able to replicate their efforts. For example, a team of researchers at Microsoft and the University of Michigan found a?plethora of holes in the security of Samsung’s SmartThings smart home platform, and the methods were far from complex.
3. Are Companies Ready?:?AT&T’s Cybersecurity Insights Report surveyed more than 5,000 enterprises around the world and found that 85% of enterprises are in the process of or intend to deploy IoT devices? Yet a mere 10% of those surveyed feel confident that they could secure those devices against hackers.
4. True Security:?Jason Porter, AT&T’s VP of security solutions, told Insider Intelligence that securing IoT devices means more than simply securing the actual devices themselves. Companies also need to build security into software applications and network connections that link to those devices.

IoT Privacy Issues

1. Too Much Data:?The sheer amount of data that IoT devices can generate is staggering.?A Federal Trade Commission report entitled “Internet of Things: Privacy & Security in a Connected World” found that fewer than 10,000 households can generate 150 million discrete data points?every day. This creates more entry points for hackers and leaves sensitive information vulnerable.
2. Unwanted Public Profile:?You’ve undoubtedly agreed to terms of service at some point, but have you ever actually read through an entire document? The aforementioned FTC report found that companies could use collected data that consumers willingly offer to make employment decisions. For example, an insurance company might gather information from you about your driving habits through a connected car when calculating your insurance rate. The same could occur for health or life insurance thanks to fitness trackers.
3. Eavesdropping:?Manufacturers or hackers could actually use a connected device to virtually invade a person’s home. German researchers accomplished this by intercepting unencrypted data from a smart meter device to determine what television show someone was watching at that moment.
4. Consumer Confidence:?Each of these problems could put a dent in consumers’ desire to purchase connected products, which would prevent the IoT from fulfilling its true potential.

References:

What Is the Internet of Things (IoT)? (oracle.com)

What is IoT (Internet of Things) and How Does it Work? - Definition from TechTarget.com

Internet of things - Wikipedia

Security & Privacy Issues in the Internet of Things Ecosystem (insiderintelligence.com)