The Internet of Thing (IoT). Kevin Ashton, in a presentation of Procter & Gamble in 1999, coined the term “Internet of Things.” What is it? “The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network” thereby facilitating human to machine and machine to machine interactions.
The concept is that all the things in the world and connecting them to the Internet. The IoT is a network of connected things with built in sensors which integrates data from the different devices and applies analytics about the environment around them to share the most valuable information with applications built to learn and adjust itself accordingly to address specific needs.
- Sensor and or device that may include a collection of sensors
- Connectivity
- Data processing
- User interface
These sensors/devices vary in degrees of complexities and are far ranging like camera, accelerometer, GPS, temperature gauges, etc. The data collected is transmitted over mediums of communication and transports such as cellular, satellite, wireless (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, wide-area networks (WAN), low power wide area network (LPWAN) or connecting directly to the internet via ethernet. Software then performs processing on the acquired data. Finally, the information is made available to the end-user that may have the ability to interact with the device or the device can perform actions automatically based on predefined rules.
Figure 1: Example of process from Data Flair
Imagine you wake up at 7am every day to go to work. Your alarm clock does the job of waking you just fine. That is, until something goes wrong. Your train’s cancelled and you have to drive to work instead. The only problem is that it takes longer to drive, and you would have needed to get up at 6.45am to avoid being late. Oh, and it’s pouring with rain, so you’ll need to drive slower than usual. A connected or IoT-enabled alarm clock would reset itself based on all these factors, to ensure you got to work on time. It could recognize that your usual train is cancelled, calculate the driving distance and travel time for your alternative route to work, check the weather and factor in slower traveling speed because of heavy rain, and calculate when it needs to wake you up so you’re not late. If it’s super-smart, if might even sync with your IoT-enabled coffee maker, to ensure your morning caffeine’s ready to go when you get up.
History
We are living connected lives filled with internet-enabled devices that learn our preferences and provide the experiences we want to make our lives more convenient. And the technology that makes it possible to connect our lives is expanding. There are several types of timelines like Industrial Internet of Things and variations of timelines. Many timelines indicated the point in time of inception is when the name was spoken in 1999 with a follow-up with the first Internet connected refrigerator by LG. The best and most informative timeline is at Tiki-Tiki.
Figure 2: IoT devices to people from Data Flair
There are already more connected things than people in the world with total spending on IoT endpoints and services to reach almost $2 trillion in 2017.
Security
The sins of the past for Industrial Control Systems regarding security have not been learned. Security is one the biggest issues with the IoT. These sensors are collecting sensitive data, what you say and do in your own home. Many IoT devices don’t include basics security. A well known botnet was dubbed Mirai. Mirai is IoT specialized malware that uses common default usernames and passwords (“admin” and “password”) to gain access to IoT devices. An individual IoT devices cannot perform much of an attack; however, the combination of millions of devices allows was used to perform distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on Dyn, a company that provides domain name services to major companies. There are other incident like hacking a Jeep by manipulating the air conditioner, able to steer the car, and turn the engine off.
In search of information regarding securing IoT, virtually every resource found on initial search concluded for end users to take action and not address at the root of the product (hardware, software, and configuration). Norton provided 9 measures a user can take:
- Install reputable internet security software
- Use strong and unique passwords
- Read the privacy policy of the apps
- Purchase reputable brands
- Know what data the device or app wants to access
- Use a VPN to transmit data
- Patch the device
- Use caution when using social sharing features
- Never leave your smartphone unattended if you’re using it in a public space
The Internet of Things are components, sensors, and other everyday objects being combined with Internet connectivity and powerful data analytic capabilities that promise to transform the way we work, live, and play. However, the Internet of Things raises significant challenges that could stand in the way of realizing its potential benefits. Be responsible as a vendor and protect yourself as a user.
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