Patent Publication Number: US-11025517-B2

Title: Sensor web management system for internet of things sensor devices with physically imprinted unique frequency keys

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/252,793, entitled “Sensor Web Management System for Internet of Things Sensor Devices with Physically Imprinted Unique Frequency Keys,” filed Aug. 31, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,516,589 allowed, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The Internet of Things (“IoT”) is a concept of making physical objects, collectively “things,” network addressable to facilitate interconnectivity for the exchange of data. IoT represents a significant business opportunity for service providers. Industry standards for the IoT infrastructure are currently in flux. To realize the lucrative promise of this new industry, issues associated with network capacity, forensic accountability, and data security must be addressed. 
     Without exaggeration, the IoT industry has the potential to exponentially increase the amount internet traffic. Within a matter of years, the impact of this new internet traffic will dramatically affect network capacity and result in a need for tools for service providers to implement to efficiently allocate this vital resource. 
     Cyber security breaches are becoming ever prevalent. How service providers and other entities respond to these security breaches will define the quality and reputation of their IoT architecture. Currently, if an IoT device is breached, tampered with, stolen, broken, or otherwise compromised so as to malfunction, there is very little that can be done to resume communications with the IoT device. If an IoT device has experienced a malfunction and goes offline, that IoT device is impossible to track, and for this reason, it is also impossible to determine the cause of the malfunction. At this point, service providers have no tools at their disposal to determine what happened to the IoT device, who attacked it, why they attacked it, or if there even was an attack. A service provider&#39;s service/product line and branding will be defined by how they are capable of determining the causal factors of IoT device malfunctions and reacting to these malfunctions quickly to resume normal operations. For these reasons, forensic accounting tools are vital for a service provider&#39;s IoT architecture. 
     The cost, size, and power define the design and functional limits of traditional IoT sensors. These sensors are small, which means that they have small processors, and, for this reason, do not have the crypto stack typically utilized in a general purpose computer. Services such as data encryption therefore are not available for today&#39;s IoT sensors. As more and more IoT sensors are deployed, the security implications of insecure data exchange among IoT sensors becomes increasingly problematic. The future success of the IoT industry depends largely on the implementation of proper security features to eliminate insecure data exchanges among other security vulnerabilities. 
     SUMMARY 
     Concepts and technologies are disclosed herein for a sensor web for Internet of Things (“IoT”) devices. According to one aspect disclosed herein, a sensor web management system can execute, via one or more processors, a monitoring module to monitor a health status of an IoT sensor device of a plurality of IoT sensor devices. The sensor web management system can determine that the health status of the IoT sensor device indicates a sensor malfunction experienced by the IoT sensor device, and in response, can generate and send an alert to a forensic analytics module. The alert can identify the sensor malfunction. In response to the alert, the sensor web management system can execute via the processor(s) the forensic analytics module to determine a last known location of the IoT sensor device. The sensor web management system can obtain a set of satellite images of the last known location of the IoT sensor device, and can utilize the set of satellite images of the last known location to determine a cause of the sensor malfunction. 
     In some embodiments, the sensor web management system can report the cause of the sensor malfunction. In addition, the sensor web management system can generate a recommendation that includes a course of action utilized to mitigate a further sensor malfunction due to the cause of the sensor malfunction. The sensor web management system can provide the recommendation to an entity that is capable of implementing the course of action to mitigate the further sensor malfunction due to the cause. 
     The sensor malfunction can be or can include a data stream malfunction. The sensor malfunction can be or can include a lost signal malfunction. The sensor malfunction can be or can include a location shift malfunction. The sensor malfunction can be or can include a location unavailable malfunction. 
     The sensor web management system, in some embodiments, can utilize the set of satellite images of the last known location of the IoT sensor to determine the cause of the sensor malfunction by comparing the set of satellite images to an archive of satellite images of the last known location of the IoT sensor device to determine whether the cause of the sensor malfunction is identifiable via a change within the set of satellite images from the archive of satellite images. The sensor web management system, in some embodiments, can record a time associated with the change. The sensor web management system, in some embodiments, can compile a list of surveillance systems located within an area served by the IoT sensor device. In some embodiments, the sensor web management system can notify law enforcement of the change. 
     The cause of the sensor malfunction can be a natural cause, such as a result of a tornado, hurricane, flooding, lightning damage, earthquake, or some other natural disaster. The cause of the sensor malfunction can be a local cyber-attack, wherein the entity responsible for the cyber-attack is physically located within the area served by the IoT sensor device. The cause of the sensor malfunction can be a remote cyber-attack, wherein the entity responsible for the cyber-attack is physical located outside of the area served by the IoT sensor device. 
     It should be appreciated that the above-described subject matter may be implemented as a computer-controlled apparatus, a computer process, a computing system, or as an article of manufacture such as a computer-readable storage medium. These and various other features will be apparent from a reading of the following Detailed Description and a review of the associated drawings. 
     This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended that this Summary be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating aspects of an illustrative operating environment capable of implementing various aspects of embodiments disclosed herein. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating aspects of a sensor web management system and components thereof capable of implementing aspects of the embodiments presented herein. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating aspects of an Internet of Things (“IoT”) sensor device and components thereof capable of implementing aspects of the embodiments presented herein. 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating aspects of an example map image displaying the locations of IoT sensor devices, according to an illustrative embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method for operating the sensor web management system, according to an illustrative embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram illustrating aspects of an IoT sensor device manufacturing timeline, according to an illustrative embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram illustrating an example computer system capable of implementing aspects of the embodiments presented herein. 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram illustrating an example mobile device capable of implementing aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein. 
         FIG. 9  is a diagram illustrating a network, according to an illustrative embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The concepts and technologies disclosed herein are directed to a sensor web for IoT sensor devices. The sensor web disclosed herein provides expanded network capacity, increased forensic accountability, and upgraded data security. The sensor web disclosed herein can increase data throughput without requiring investment in more bandwidth. The sensor web accomplishes this through the use of a sparse data transmission scheme. In particular, the sensor web can throttle portions of sensor networks to provide more bandwidth for more critical sensor network areas. 
     The sensor web disclosed herein also can implement a redundant communication channel utilizing radio wave satellite communications that provide global positioning system (“GPS”) tracking for each IoT device. The sensor web disclosed herein also can provide upgraded data security by embedding each sensor with a unique key. In some embodiments, each sensor is physically imprinted with a unique key. A server paired to an IoT sensor device can follow that device&#39;s unique key on a packet-by-packet basis. For example, a server can listen for a first data packet over a 5 gigahertz (“GHz”) channel, a second packet over a 2.4 GHz channel, a third packet over the 2.4 GHz channel, and a fourth packet over the 5 GHz channel, and so on. Therefore, even if packets are being sniffed by a hacker, putting the packets back in order or establishing a context for the complete data transmission becomes exponentially more difficult the more IoT sensor devices that are connected to the sensor web. It is possible for an exemplary implementation of a sensor web to include tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands or greater numbers of individual IoT sensor devices. 
     The IoT sensor devices disclosed herein can include one or more sensors that are configured to reduce the data transmission rate, thus freeing up network capacity. The IoT sensor devices disclosed herein can be tracked via the disclosed sensor web even if rendered inoperable, such as by being forced offline. Moreover, the IoT sensor devices disclosed herein provide security through obfuscation. Even transmission over an unsecure network is made difficult to translate, to determine the ownership thereof, and/or to deduce the context thereof. 
     It should be appreciated that the above-described subject matter may be implemented as a computer-controlled apparatus, a computer process, a computing system, or as an article of manufacture such as a computer-readable storage medium. These and various other features will be apparent from a reading of the remaining Detailed Description and a review of the associated drawings. 
     While the subject matter described herein may be presented, at times, in the general context of program modules that execute in conjunction with the execution of an operating system and application programs on a computer system, those skilled in the art will recognize that other implementations may be performed in combination with other types of program modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, computer-executable instructions, and/or other types of structures that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the subject matter described herein may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, vehicles, wireless devices, multiprocessor systems, distributed computing systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, routers, switches, other computing devices described herein, and the like. 
     In the following detailed description, references are made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments or examples. Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals represent like elements throughout the several figures, aspects of a sensor web management system for IoT sensor devices with physically imprinted unique frequency keys will be described. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , aspects of an illustrative operating environment  100  for various concepts disclosed herein will be described. It should be understood that the operating environment  100  and the various components thereof have been greatly simplified for purposes of discussion. Accordingly, additional or alternative components of the operating environment  100  can be made available without departing from the embodiments described herein. 
     The operating environment  100  includes an IoT sensor web (“sensor web”)  102 . The sensor web  102  provides expanded network capacity, increased forensic accountability, and upgraded data security for a plurality of IoT sensor devices  104 A- 104 N (referred to herein collectively as IoT sensor devices  104 , or singularly as IoT sensor device  104 ). The sensor web  102  can increase data throughput without requiring service providers to invest in more bandwidth. The sensor web  102  accomplishes this through the use of a sparse data transmission scheme. In particular, the sensor web  102  can throttle one or more of the IoT sensor devices  104  to provide more bandwidth to one or more other devices of the IoT sensor devices  104  operating in the sensor web  102 . 
     The sensor web  102  also can implement a redundant communication channel utilizing radio wave satellite communications that provide global positioning system (“GPS”) tracking for each of the IoT sensor devices  104  via a satellite communications system  106 . This redundant communication channel is especially effective for when an IoT sensor device  104  experiences a malfunction and goes offline. 
     The sensor web  102  can provide upgraded data security by embedding each of the IoT sensor devices  104  with a unique key. In some embodiments, each sensor is physically imprinted with a unique key. A server paired to an IoT sensor device can follow that device&#39;s unique key on a packet-by-packet basis. For example, a server can listen for a first data packet over a 5 gigahertz (“GHz”) channel, a second data packet over a 2.4 GHz channel, a third data packet over the 2.4 GHz channel, and a fourth data packet over the 5 GHz channel, and so on. Therefore, even if data packets are being sniffed by a hacker, putting the data packets back in order or establishing a context for the complete data transmission becomes exponentially more difficult the more IoT sensor devices that are connected to the sensor web. It is possible for an exemplary implementation of the sensor web  102  to include tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands or greater numbers of individual IoT sensor devices  104 . Additional details regarding this upgraded data security mechanism are described herein below with reference to  FIG. 6 . 
     Each of the IoT sensor devices  104  are configured to operate on and communicate with a wireless wide area network (“WWAN”) WI-FI access network  108 , a WWAN cellular access network  110 , or both. The IoT sensor devices  104  can be or can include any “thing” that can collect data and that is configured to be network addressable so as to connect to and communicate with one or more networks, such as the WWAN WI-FI access network  108  and/or the WWAN cellular access network  110 , over which to communicate the data to other connected devices, including, for example, computers, smartphones, tablets, vehicles, other computing devices, other IoT sensor devices, combinations thereof, and the like. The IoT sensor devices  104  can be deployed for consumer use, business use, and can find application in many industry-specific use cases. For example, the IoT sensor devices  104  may find at least partial application in the following industries: automotive, energy, healthcare, industrial, retail, and smart buildings/homes. Those skilled in the art will appreciate the applicability of IoT-solutions disclosed herein to other industries as well as consumer and business use cases. For this reason, the applications of the IoT sensor devices  104  described herein are used merely to illustrate some example applications, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. 
     Each of the access networks, including the WWAN WI-FI access network  108  and the WWAN cellular access network  110 , can include one or more service areas (which may also be referred to herein as “cells”) having the same or different cell sizes, which may be represented by different cell-types. As used herein, a “cell” refers to a geographical area that is served by one or more base stations operating within an access network. As used herein, a “base station” refers to a radio receiver and/or transmitter (collectively, transceiver) that is/are configured to provide a radio/air interface over which one or more IoT sensor devices, such as the IoT sensor devices  104 , can connect to a network. Accordingly, a base station is intended to encompass one or more base transceiver stations (“BTSs”), one or more Node-Bs, one or more eNode-Bs, one or more home eNode-Bs, one or more wireless access points (“APs”), one or more multi-standard metro cell (“MSMC”) nodes, and/or other networking nodes or combinations thereof that are capable of providing a radio/air interface regardless of the technologies utilized to do so. A base station can be in communication with one or more antennas (not shown), each of which may be configured in accordance with any antenna design specifications to provide a physical interface for receiving and transmitting radio waves to and from one or more devices, such as the IoT sensor devices  104 . 
     A cell-type can be associated with certain dimensional characteristics that define the effective radio range of a cell. A cell-type can additionally represent the radio access technology (“RAT”) utilized by a cell. Cell-types can include, but are not limited to, a macro cell-type, a metro cell-type, a femto cell-type, a pico cell-type, a micro cell-type, WLAN cell-type, a MSMC cell-type, and a white space network cell-type. For ease of explanation, a “small cell” cell-type is utilized herein to collectively refer to a group of cell-types that includes femto cell-type (e.g., home eNodeB), pico cell-type, and micro cell-type, in general contrast to a macro cell-type, which offers a larger coverage area. Other cell-types, including proprietary cell-types, temporary cell-types, and ad-hoc cell-types are also contemplated. An ad-hoc cell-type, for example, can include an IoT sensor device  104 , functioning as a “hotspot” for facilitating connectivity for other devices, such as another of the IoT sensor devices  104 , to connect to another potentially larger cell. 
     The WWAN cellular access network  110  may operate in accordance with one or more mobile telecommunications standards including, but not limited to, Global System for Mobile communications (“GSM”), Code Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”) ONE, CDMA2000, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (“UMTS”), Long-Term Evolution (“LTE”), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (“WiMAX”), other current 3GPP cellular technologies, other future 3GPP cellular technologies, combinations thereof, and/or the like. The WWAN cellular access network  108  can utilize various channel access methods (which may or may not be used by the aforementioned standards), including, but not limited to, Time Division Multiple Access (“TDMA”), Frequency Division Multiple Access (“FDMA”), CDMA, wideband CDMA (“W-CDMA”), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (“OFDM”), Single-Carrier FDMA (“SC-FDMA”), Space Division Multiple Access (“SDMA”), and the like to provide a radio/air interface to the IoT sensor devices  104 . Data communications can be provided in part by the WWAN cellular access network  110  using General Packet Radio Service (“GPRS”), Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution (“EDGE”), the High-Speed Packet Access (“HSPA”) protocol family including High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (“HSDPA”), Enhanced Uplink (“EUL”) or otherwise termed High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (“HSUPA”), Evolved HSPA (“HSPA+”), LTE, and/or various other current and future wireless data access technologies. Moreover, the WWAN cellular access network  106  may be a GSM RAN (“GRAN”), a GSM EDGE RAN (“GERAN”), a UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (“UTRAN”), an evolved U-TRAN (“E-UTRAN”), any combination thereof, and/or the like. The WWAN WI-FI access network  106  can operated in accordance with IEEE 802.11ah, IEEE 802.11af, or IEEE 802.11ah and IEEE 802.11af, and like standards that support WAN WI-FI. 
     The WWAN WI-FI access network  108  and/or the WWAN cellular access network  110  can be part of one or more mobile telecommunications networks that, in addition to providing network access to the IoT sensor devices  104 , provide data access to one or more mobile devices, such as cellular smartphones and other cellular-enabled devices (e.g., tablets or laptops). As used herein, a mobile telecommunications network includes one or more radio access network (“RANs”) (such as the WWAN WI-FI access network  108  and/or the WWAN cellular access network  110 ) and a WWAN, which may include one or more core networks  112 , such as, for example, an evolved packet core (“EPC”) network. The core network(s)  112  can include one or more IoT gateways (not shown) that interconnect access points in the WWAN WI-FI access network  108  and the WWAN cellular access network  110  to the core network  112 . 
     The core network  112  embodied as an EPC network can include a mobility management entity (“MME”), a serving gateway (“SGW”), a packet data network (“PDN”) gateway (“PGW”), and a home subscriber server (“HSS”). The PDN gateway interconnects the core network  112  and one or more external IP networks, shown in the illustrated embodiments as packet data networks (“PDNs”)  114 A- 114 N. The PGW routes IP packets to and from the PDNs  114 A- 114 N. The PDN gateway also performs operations such as IP address/IP prefix allocation, policy control, and charging. In some implementations, the PGW and the SGW are combined. Moreover, IoT gateway functionality may be combined with the PGW and/or the SGW. The HSS is a database that contains user/subscriber information. The HSS also performs operations to support mobility management, call and session setup, user authentication, and access authorization. These concepts can be extended, as applicable, to the IoT sensor devices  104 A- 104 N, or alternatively, a dedicated server for IoT sensor devices can be implemented within the core network  112  to handle authentication, authorization, accounting, and/or other aspects. 
     The PDNs  114 A- 114 N can provide access to one or more IoT services  116 . The IoT services  116  can include any consumer and/or business-oriented services. The IoT services  116  can be industry-specific. For example, the IoT services  116  can provide services in the automotive, energy, healthcare, industrial, retail, smart buildings/homes industries, and/or the like. Those skilled in the art will appreciate the applicability of the IoT services  116  to other industries. For this reason, the IoT services  116  described herein are used merely to illustrate some examples, and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. 
     The illustrated operating environment  100  also includes a sensor web management system  118  operating in communication with the IoT sensor devices  104  of the sensor web  102 . The sensor web management system  118  monitors a health status of each of the IoT sensor devices  104  deployed within the sensor web  102 . In some embodiments, the health status of an IoT sensor device  104  can be normal or abnormal. A normal health status can indicate that the IoT sensor device  104  is operating within one or more operating parameters defined for normal operation. Likewise, an abnormal health status can indicate that the IoT sensor device  104  is operating outside of one or more operating parameters defined for normal operations, and can indicate that the IoT sensor device  104  has experienced a malfunction of some kind. It should be understood that the granularity of the health status monitored by the sensor web management system  118  can be changed to accommodate various implementations and the needs of a particular IoT sensor device  104 . As such, the aforementioned examples should not be construed as being limiting in any way. 
     In the event of a sensor malfunction, the sensor web management system  118  can reconstruct the condition(s) that resulted in the sensor malfunction. For this reason, the sensor web management system  118  is in communication with the satellite communications system  106 , which can employ GPS technology to provide aerial positioning, surveillance, and imaging of the area(s) in which the sensor malfunction occurred. A sensor malfunction can be triggered by any one or a combination of the following malfunction events: a weak or intermittent data stream (e.g., poor data connection); a lost signal (e.g., the IoT sensor device  104  has been disconnected from a network—i.e., the WWAN WI-FI access network  108  and/or the WWAN cellular access network  110 ); a location shift, whereby the physical location of the IoT sensor device  104  has moved beyond a pre-defined threshold boundary; and/or a location missing, whereby the physical location of the IoT sensor device  104  cannot be identified—i.e., the IoT sensor device  104  cannot communicate with the satellite communications system  106 . Moreover, the sensor web management system  118  can attempt to classify the aforementioned events into one of three categories, including: a malfunction by a natural cause, such as a result of a tornado, hurricane, flooding, lightning damage, earthquake, or some other natural disaster; a malfunction by physical tampering or a close-proximity cyber-attack (local attack), wherein the entity responsible for the cyber-attack is physically located within the area served by the IoT sensor device; and a malfunction by a remote cyber-attack, wherein the entity responsible for the cyber-attack is physically located outside of the area served by the IoT sensor device. 
     Moreover, in response to one or more of the aforementioned events, the sensor web management system  118  can initialize a surveillance protocol that generates, among other things, a set of satellite aerial images at and around (e.g., within a predefined distance of) the last known location (collectively, “the observed area”) of the IoT sensor device  104  via coordinating with the satellite communications system  106 . The sensor web management system  118  utilizes the set of satellite aerial images to determine whether any suspicious activity exists in the area and/or if there are any vehicles and/or individuals seen leaving the area. The set of satellite aerial images also can be compared to an archive of satellite images that are taken at an interval such as daily, weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, random, or some other interval. If law enforcement is notified, the set of satellite aerial images can be utilized to generate, at least in part, a suspect list and/or a witness list. 
     The sensor web management system  118  also can record a time at which the event occurred, and can compile a list of existing public and/or private surveillance systems in the observed area that might have evidence (e.g., video and/or still images) of the sensor malfunction. Public surveillance systems can include, for example, traffic light cameras and the like. Private surveillance systems can include, for example, exterior cameras outside local businesses. The surveillance system list can be forwarded to law enforcement and/or private investigators, depending on the causal nature of the sensor malfunction. 
     Depending on the evidence collected, the sensor web management system  118  can generate one or more recommendations, including, for example, a course of action to prevent or at least mitigate the same type of sensor malfunction in the future to the same and/or similar IoT sensor devices  104 . Once the sensor malfunction has been resolved and classified, the results can be fed back into the sensor web management system  118  as part of a learning algorithm to improve the sensor web management system  118  over time so as to more reliability predict future sensor malfunction and/or behaviors that may indicate that a sensor malfunction is imminent. 
     It should be understood that some implementations of the operating environment  100  include multiple sensor webs  102 , multiple WWAN WI-FI access networks  108 , multiple WWAN cellular access networks  110 , multiple core networks  112 , multiple sensor web management systems  118 , multiple satellite communications systems  106 , or some combination thereof. Thus, the illustrated embodiment should be understood as being illustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 2 , a block diagram illustrating aspects of the sensor web management system  118  and components thereof capable of implementing aspects of the embodiments presented herein will be described. The illustrated sensor web management system  118  includes a sensor web management system processing component  200 , a sensor web management system memory component  202 , a sensor web management system operating system  204 , a sensor web management system dashboard  206 , sensor web management system modules  208 , sensor web management system databases  210 , and sensor web management system input/output  212 .  FIG. 2  will be described with additional reference to  FIG. 1 . 
     The sensor web management system processing component  200  can include one or more hardware components that perform computations to process data, and/or to execute computer-executable instructions of one or more software modules, such as the sensor web management system modules  208 , the sensor web management system operating system  204 , and/or other software (not shown). The sensor web management system processing component  200  can include one or more central processing units (“CPUs”) configured with one or more processing cores. The sensor web management system processing component  200  can include one or more graphics processing unit (“GPU”) configured to accelerate operations performed by one or more CPUs, and/or to perform computations to process data, and/or to execute computer-executable instructions of one or more application programs, operating systems, and/or other software that may or may not include instructions particular to graphics computations. In some embodiments, the sensor web management system processing component  200  can include one or more discrete GPUs. In some other embodiments, the sensor web management system processing component  200  can include CPU and GPU components that are configured in accordance with a co-processing CPU/GPU computing model, wherein the sequential part of an application executes on the CPU and the computationally-intensive part is accelerated by the GPU. The sensor web management system processing component  200  can include one or more system-on-chip (“SoC”) components along with one or more other components illustrated as being part of the sensor web management system  118 , including, for example, the sensor web management system memory component  202 . In some embodiments, the sensor web management system processing component  200  can be or can include one or more SNAPDRAGON SoCs, available from QUALCOMM of San Diego, Calif.; one or more TEGRA SoCs, available from NVIDIA of Santa Clara, Calif.; one or more HUMMINGBIRD SoCs, available from SAMSUNG of Seoul, South Korea; one or more Open Multimedia Application Platform (“OMAP”) SoCs, available from TEXAS INSTRUMENTS of Dallas, Tex.; one or more customized versions of any of the above SoCs; and/or one or more proprietary SoCs. The sensor web management system processing component  200  can be or can include one or more hardware components architected in accordance with an ARM architecture, available for license from ARM HOLDINGS of Cambridge, United Kingdom. Alternatively, the sensor web management system processing component  200  can be or can include one or more hardware components architected in accordance with an x86 architecture, such an architecture available from INTEL CORPORATION of Mountain View, Calif., and others. Those skilled in the art will appreciate the implementation of the sensor web management system processing component  200  can utilize various computation architectures, and as such, the sensor web management system processing component  200  should not be construed as being limited to any particular computation architecture or combination of computation architectures, including those explicitly disclosed herein. 
     The sensor web management system memory component  202  can include one or more hardware components that perform storage operations, including temporary or permanent storage operations. In some embodiments, the sensor web management system memory component  202  can include volatile and/or non-volatile memory implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, the sensor web management system operating system  204 , the sensor web management system modules  208 , or other data disclosed herein. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, random access memory (“RAM”), read-only memory (“ROM”), Erasable Programmable ROM (“EPROM”), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (“EEPROM”), flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (“DVD”), or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store data and which can be accessed by the sensor web management system processing component  200 . 
     The sensor web management system dashboard  206  is a user interface that allows users to interact with the functionality provided by the sensor web management system  118 , and more particularly, the functionality provided by the sensor web management system modules  208  via execution by the sensor web management system processing component  200 . The sensor web management system dashboard  206  can provide a user interface through which users can view a health status for each of the IoT sensor devices  104 , such as, for example, whether each of the IoT sensor devices  104  is operating normally or abnormally (i.e., has experienced a sensor malfunction). The sensor web management system dashboard  206  also can provide a user interface through which users can view satellite images provided by the satellite communications system  106 . The sensor web management system dashboard  206  also can provide a user interface through which users can view results of forensic traces to provide users with data to better understand the cause of a given sensor malfunction. The sensor web management system dashboard  206  also can allow users to view sensor data and other metrics captured by and/or generated by the sensor web management system  118  and/or the IoT sensor devices  104  operating in the sensor web  102 . 
     The sensor web management system modules  208  can include an IoT sensor device monitoring module  214 , a forensic analytics module  216 , a satellite imaging module  218 , and a unique key module  220 . Each of the sensor web management system modules  208  can include instructions that, when executed by the sensor web management system processing component  200 , cause the sensor web management system  118  to perform operations. The sensor web management system databases  210  can include an IoT sensor device location database  222 , a satellite image database  224 , a forensic database  226 , a unique key database  228 , a public surveillance systems database  230 , and a private surveillance systems database  232 . The sensor web management system modules  208  can interact with the sensor web management system databases  210  to store and retrieve various data associated with aspects of the operations of the sensor web management system  118 . 
     The IoT sensor device location database  222  can store one or more locations (e.g., current location, last known location, past location, and/or the like) for each of the IoT sensor devices  104 . The locations can be associated with a threshold boundary such that a given IoT sensor device  104  is considered to be in a location as long as that IoT sensor device  104  is within the threshold boundary. This can aid in reducing or eliminating false location-based malfunctions. The IoT sensor device location database  222  can be updated by the IoT sensor device monitoring module  214  periodically and/or in response to a request to do so (e.g., from a user or from the forensic analytics module  216  to determine a last known location). 
     The satellite image database  224  can store satellite images associated with each of the IoT sensor devices  104 . The satellite images associated with each of the IoT sensor devices  104  can be associated with one or more location tags corresponding to the locations stored in the IoT sensor device location database  222 . The satellite image database  224  can archive satellite images for comparison, by the forensic analytics module  216 , to the set of satellite aerial images taken of the observed area of the IoT sensor device  104  in response to a sensor malfunction. The archive images can be taken at an interval, such as daily, weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, random, or some other interval. 
     The forensic database  226  can store any data associated with forensic analysis performed by the forensic analytics module  216 . Forensic analysis can include a process of determining what happened to the IoT sensor device  104  after the fact, including, for example, deducing causal factors from the data collected. A goal is to determine a category for the sensor malfunction—either natural causes, malicious physical tampering, or cyber-attack. 
     The forensic database  226  can provide a foundation for a learning algorithm through which forensic data from forensic analysis is utilized to predict the cause of a sensor malfunction based upon correlation with past forensic data. Over time, the forensic database  226  can be fine-tuned to include associations with particular sensor malfunctions to aid the forensic analytics module  216  in identifying the cause(s) of a particular sensor malfunction that occurred. Moreover, the forensic database  226  can store, in association with particular sensor malfunctions and corresponding forensic data, one or more recommendations to mitigate and/or to prevent future sensor malfunctions. For example, the forensic analytics module  216  can utilize forensic data to determine if there was flooding in the area where the IoT sensor device  104  malfunctioned; if there was suspicious activity in the area where the IoT sensor device  104  malfunctioned; if a vehicle is visible leaving the area, and if so, whether still or video images can be utilized to acquire a license plate number of the vehicle. On the other hand, if there are no direct physical interactions with the IoT sensor device  104 , then it can be determined the malfunction is due to a cyber-attack or a simple malfunction. Cyber-attacks can be addressed in several ways. For example, security could be increased and/or a honey pot trap could be set to trace the root IP address back to the original hacker. 
     The unique key database  228  can store a unique frequency key associated with each of the IoT sensor devices  104 . A unique key can include a randomized frequency map assigned for each of the IoT sensor devices  104 . The unique key can be physically imprinted on the IoT sensor devices  104 . In some embodiments, these keys are imprinted at the factory, and for this reason, the maps do not need to be communicated via a network (e.g., the Internet). Additional details regarding unique key pair will be described herein below with reference to  FIG. 7 . 
     The public surveillance systems database  230  can store data associated with one or more public surveillance systems. This data can include time stamps, images, videos, and/or any other data captured by one or more public surveillance systems. Similarly, the private surveillance systems database  230  can store data associated with one or more private surveillance systems. This data can include time stamps, images, videos, and/or any other data captured by one or more private surveillance systems. 
     The IoT sensor device monitoring module  214  can be executed by the sensor web management system processing component  200  to monitor a health status of each of the IoT sensor devices  104  deployed within the sensor web  102 . In the event of a sensor malfunction, the IoT sensor device monitoring module  214  can generate an alert  234  and can send the alert  234  to the forensic analytics module  216 , which can perform forensic analysis to determine the cause of the sensor malfunction. As explained above, a sensor malfunction can be triggered by any one or a combination of the following events: a weak or intermittent data stream (e.g., poor data connection); a lost signal (e.g., the IoT sensor device  104  has been disconnected from a network—i.e., the WWAN WI-FI access network  108  and/or the WWAN cellular access network  110 ); a location shift, whereby the physical location of the IoT sensor device  104  has moved beyond a pre-defined threshold boundary; and/or a location missing, whereby the physical location of the IoT sensor device  104  cannot be identified—i.e., the IoT sensor device  104  cannot communicate with the satellite communications system  106 . 
     In response to the alert  234 , the forensic analytics module  216  can perform forensic analysis to determine the cause of the sensor malfunction. The forensic analytics module  216  can be executed by the sensor web management system processing component  200  to initialize a surveillance protocol. In particular, the forensic analytics module  216  can communicate with the satellite imaging module  218  to acquire a set of satellite aerial images at and around (e.g., within a predefined distance of) the last known location (collectively, “the observed area”) of the IoT sensor device  104 . The satellite imaging module  218  can be executed by the sensor web management system processing component  200  to communicate with the satellite communications system  106  via the sensor web management system input/output  212  to retrieve the set of satellite aerial images. The forensic analytics module  216  can utilize the set of satellite aerial images to determine whether any suspicious activity exists in the area and/or if there are any vehicles and/or individuals seen leaving the area. The set of satellite aerial images also can be compared to an archive of satellite images stored in the satellite image database  224 . 
     The forensic analytics module  216  also can record a time at which the event occurred and can store the time in the forensic database  226 . The forensic analytics module  216  can compile a list of existing public and/or private surveillance systems in the observed area by consulting with the public surveillance systems database  230  and the private surveillance systems database  232 . The surveillance system list can be forwarded to law enforcement and/or private investigators, depending on the causal nature of the sensor malfunction. 
     Depending on the evidence collected, the forensic analytics module  216  can generate a set of recommendations. The set of recommendations can include a course of action to prevent or at least mitigate the same type of sensor malfunction in the future. Once the sensor malfunction has been resolved and classified, the results can be fed back into the forensic analytics module  216  as part of a learning algorithm to improve the forensic analytics module  216  to be better able to predict future sensor malfunction and/or behaviors that may indicate that a sensor malfunction is imminent. 
     It should be understood that some implementations of the sensor web management system  118  can include multiple sensor web management system processing components  200 , multiple sensor web management system memory components  202 , multiple sensor web management system operating systems  204 , multiple sensor web management system dashboards  206 , multiple IoT sensor device monitoring modules  214 , multiple forensic analysis modules  216 , multiple satellite imaging module  218 , multiple unique key modules  220 , multiple IoT sensor device location databases  222 , multiple satellite image databases  224 , multiple forensic databases  226 , multiple unique key databases  228 , multiple public surveillance systems databases  230 , multiple private surveillance systems databases  232 , multiple sensor web management system input/output  212 , multiple alerts  234 , or some combination thereof. Thus, the illustrated embodiment should be understood as being illustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Moreover, the sensor web management system  118  can be implemented as a single system as shown or as multiple systems. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 3 , a block diagram illustrating aspects of an example IoT sensor device  104  and components thereof capable of implementing aspects of the embodiments presented herein will be described. The illustrated IoT sensor device  104  includes an IoT sensor device processing component  300 , an IoT sensor device memory component  302 , an IoT sensor device application  304 , an IoT sensor device operating system  306 , one or more IoT sensor device sensors  308 , an IoT sensor device RF interface  310 , and an IoT sensor device satellite interface  312 .  FIG. 3  will be described with additional reference to  FIG. 1 . 
     The IoT sensor device processing component  300  (also referred to herein as a “processor”) can include one or more hardware components that perform computations to process data, and/or to execute computer-executable instructions of one or more application programs such as the IoT sensor device application  304 , one or more operating systems such as the IoT sensor device operating system  306 , and/or other software. The IoT sensor device processing component  300  can include one or more CPUs configured with one or more processing cores. The IoT sensor device processing component  300  can include one or more GPU configured to accelerate operations performed by one or more CPUs, and/or to perform computations to process data, and/or to execute computer-executable instructions of one or more application programs, operating systems, and/or other software that may or may not include instructions particular to graphics computations. In some embodiments, the IoT sensor device processing component  300  can include one or more discrete GPUs. In some other embodiments, the IoT sensor device processing component  300  can include CPU and GPU components that are configured in accordance with a co-processing CPU/GPU computing model, wherein the sequential part of an application executes on the CPU and the computationally-intensive part is accelerated by the GPU. The IoT sensor device processing component  300  can include one or more SoC components along with one or more other components illustrated as being part of the IoT sensor device  104 , including, for example, the IoT sensor device memory component  302 . In some embodiments, the IoT sensor device processing component  300  can be or can include one or more SNAPDRAGON SoCs, available from QUALCOMM of San Diego, Calif.; one or more TEGRA SoCs, available from NVIDIA of Santa Clara, Calif.; one or more HUMMINGBIRD SoCs, available from SAMSUNG of Seoul, South Korea; one or more OMAP SoCs, available from TEXAS INSTRUMENTS of Dallas, Tex.; one or more customized versions of any of the above SoCs; and/or one or more proprietary SoCs. The IoT sensor device processing component  300  can be or can include one or more hardware components architected in accordance with an ARM architecture, available for license from ARM HOLDINGS of Cambridge, United Kingdom. Alternatively, the IoT sensor device processing component  300  can be or can include one or more hardware components architected in accordance with an x86 architecture, such an architecture available from INTEL CORPORATION of Mountain View, Calif., and others. Those skilled in the art will appreciate the implementation of the IoT sensor device component  300  can utilize various computation architectures, and as such, the IoT sensor device processing component  300  should not be construed as being limited to any particular computation architecture or combination of computation architectures, including those explicitly disclosed herein. 
     The IoT sensor device memory component  302  can include one or more hardware components that perform storage operations, including temporary or permanent storage operations. In some embodiments, the IoT sensor device memory component  302  can include volatile and/or non-volatile memory implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, the IoT sensor device operating system  306 , the IoT sensor device application  304 , or other data disclosed herein. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD, or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store data and which can be accessed by the IoT sensor device processing component  300 . 
     The IoT sensor device application  304  can be executed by the IoT sensor device processing component  300  to perform operations such as gathering data associated with an observed area, sharing the data with the sensor web management system  118 , processing instructions received from the sensor web management system  118 , and other operations described herein. The IoT sensor device application  304  can execute on top of the IoT sensor device operating system  306 . In some embodiments, the IoT sensor device application  304  is provided as firmware. 
     The IoT sensor device operating system  306  can control the operation of the IoT sensor device  104 . In some embodiments, the IoT sensor device operating system  306  includes the functionality of the IoT sensor device application  304 . The IoT sensor device operating system  306  can be executed by the IoT sensor device processing component  300  to cause the IoT sensor device  104  to perform various operations. The IoT sensor device operating system  306  can include a member of the SYMBIAN OS family of operating systems from SYMBIAN LIMITED, a member of the WINDOWS OS, WINDOWS MOBILE OS and/or WINDOWS PHONE OS families of operating systems from MICROSOFT CORPORATION, a member of the PALM WEBOS family of operating systems from HEWLETT PACKARD CORPORATION, a member of the BLACKBERRY OS family of operating systems from RESEARCH IN MOTION LIMITED, a member of the IOS family of operating systems or a member of the OS X family of operating systems from APPLE INC., a member of the ANDROID OS family of operating systems from GOOGLE INC., and/or other operating systems. These operating systems are merely illustrative of some contemplated operating systems that may be used in accordance with various embodiments of the concepts and technologies described herein and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. 
     The sensor(s)  308  can include any sensor type or combination of sensor types utilizing any known sensor technology that is capable of detecting one or more characteristics of an environment, such as an observed area, in which the IoT sensor device  104  is deployed. More particularly, the sensor(s)  308  can include, but are not limited to, lighting control sensor, appliance control sensor, security sensor, alarm sensor, medication dispenser sensor, entry/exit detector sensor, video sensor, camera sensor, alarm sensor, motion detector sensor, door sensor, window sensor, window break sensor, outlet control sensor, vibration sensor, occupancy sensor, orientation sensor, water sensor, water leak sensor, flood sensor, temperature sensor, humidity sensor, smoke detector sensor, carbon monoxide detector sensor, doorbell sensor, dust detector sensor, air quality sensor, light sensor, gas sensor, fall detector sensor, weight sensor, blood pressure sensor, IR sensor, HVAC sensor, smart home sensor, thermostats, other security sensors, other automation sensors, other environmental monitoring sensors, other healthcare sensors, multipurpose sensor that combines two or more sensors, the like, and/or combinations thereof. Those skilled in the art will appreciate the applicability of the sensors  308  to various aspects of the IoT services  116 , and for this reason, additional details in this regard are not provided. 
     The IoT sensor device RF interface  310  can include an RF transceiver or separate receiver and transmitter components. The IoT sensor device RF interface  310  can include one or more antennas and one or more RF receivers for receiving RF signals from and one or more RF transmitters for sending RF signals to the sensor web management system  118 . The IoT sensor device satellite interface  312  provides an interface to the satellite communications system  106 . 
     It should be understood that some implementations of the IoT sensor device  104  can include multiple IoT sensor device processing components  300 , multiple IoT sensor device memory components  302 , multiple IoT sensor device applications  304 , multiple IoT sensor device operating systems  306 , multiple IoT sensor device RF interfaces  310 , multiple IoT sensor device satellite interfaces  312 , or some combination thereof. Thus, the illustrated embodiment should be understood as being illustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 4 , a block diagram  400  illustrating aspects of an example map image  402  displaying the locations of IoT sensor devices  104  will be described, according to an illustrative embodiment. The block diagram  400  includes the sensor web management system  118 , the satellite communications system  106 , and the sensor web management system databases  210  introduced above in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     The example map image  402  includes a satellite image obtained by the sensor web management system  118  from the satellite communications system  106  of the continental United States with a plurality of the IoT sensor devices  104  deployed throughout. An exploded view  404  of the map image  402  shows satellite imagery with IoT sensor device representations  406 A- 406 E of the IoT sensor devices  104 A- 104 E and surveillance system representations  408 A- 408 N of surveillance systems (public and/or private). 
     Overall, the sensor web management system  118  can record changes to the landscape surrounding each of the IoT sensor devices  104  in the sensor web  102 . The forensic analytics module  216  over time will learn what changes are associated with certain types of sensor malfunctions. For example, weather systems that cause outages versus human behaviors that can be associated with the nefarious surveillance of a patch of sensors that leads to a tampering incident or a theft. With regard to cyber-attacks, the ability to rule out the above-mentioned physical incursions would allow system designers to move more quickly to address a cyber-attack. In other words, if it is known that the issue is not physical, then the evidence is more likely to suggest that the sensor malfunction was due to a cyber, not physical, attack. This translates to a process that can more rapidly deploy security patches, or take other defensive actions. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 5 , a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method  500  for operating the sensor web management system  118  will be described, according to an illustrative embodiment. It should be understood that the operations of the methods disclosed herein are not necessarily presented in any particular order and that performance of some or all of the operations in an alternative order(s) is possible and is contemplated. The operations have been presented in the demonstrated order for ease of description and illustration. Operations may be added, omitted, and/or performed simultaneously, without departing from the scope of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein. 
     It also should be understood that the methods disclosed herein can be ended at any time and need not be performed in its entirety. Some or all operations of the methods, and/or substantially equivalent operations, can be performed by execution of computer-readable instructions included on a computer storage media, as defined herein. The term “computer-readable instructions,” and variants thereof, as used herein, is used expansively to include routines, applications, application modules, program modules, programs, components, data structures, algorithms, and the like. Computer-readable instructions can be implemented on various system configurations including single-processor or multiprocessor systems or devices, minicomputers, mainframe computers, personal computers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based, programmable consumer electronics, combinations thereof, and the like. 
     Thus, it should be appreciated that the logical operations described herein are implemented ( 1 ) as a sequence of computer implemented acts or program modules running on a computing system and/or ( 2 ) as interconnected machine logic circuits or circuit modules within the computing system. The implementation is a matter of choice dependent on the performance and other requirements of the computing system. Accordingly, the logical operations described herein are referred to variously as states, operations, structural devices, acts, or modules. These states, operations, structural devices, acts, and modules may be implemented in software, in firmware, in special purpose digital logic, and any combination thereof. As used herein, the phrase “cause a processor to perform operations” and variants thereof is used to refer to causing one or more processors of the sensor web management system  118 , of the IoT sensor device(s)  104 , of the satellite communications system  106 , and/or one or more other computing systems and/or devices disclosed herein to perform operations. 
     For purposes of illustrating and describing some of the concepts of the present disclosure, the methods disclosed herein are described as being performed, at least in part, by the sensor web management system  118 , of the IoT sensor device(s)  104 , of the satellite communications system  106  via execution of one or more software modules, such as the sensor web management system modules  208 . It should be understood that additional and/or alternative devices and/or network nodes can provide the functionality described herein via execution of one or more modules, applications, and/or other software. Thus, the illustrated embodiments are illustrative, and should not be viewed as being limiting in any way. 
     The method  500  will now be described with reference to  FIG. 5  and additional reference to  FIG. 2 . The method  500  begins and proceeds to operation  502 , where the IoT sensor device monitoring module  214  monitors the health status of the IoT sensor device  104 . From operation  502 , the method  500  proceeds to operation  504 , where the IoT sensor device monitoring module  214  determines whether the health status indicates that the IoT sensor device  104  has experienced a sensor malfunction. If not, the method  500  returns to operation  502 , wherein the IoT sensor device monitoring module  214  continues to monitor the health status of the IoT sensor device  104 . If, however, the health status indicates that the IoT sensor device  104  has experienced a sensor malfunction, the method  500  proceeds to operation  506 , where the IoT sensor device monitoring module  214  generates the alert  234  directed to the forensic analytics module  216 . 
     From operation  506 , the method  500  proceeds to operation  508 , where the forensic analytics module  216  receives the alert  234  from the IoT sensor device monitoring module  214 . From operation  510 , the method  500  proceeds to operation  512 , where the forensic analytics module  216  determines a last known location of the IoT sensor device  104  by consulting with the satellite imaging module  218  that, in turn, can access the satellite image database  224  for a last known location of the IoT sensor device  104 , if available, and/or communicate with the satellite communications system  106  to obtain the last known location of the IoT sensor device  104 . From operation  512 , the method  500  proceeds to operation  514 , where the forensic analytics module  216  obtains a set of satellite images of the last known location. From operation  514 , the method  500  proceeds to operation  516 , where the forensic analytics module  216  determines the cause of the sensor malfunction using the set of satellite images. For example, the forensic analytics module  216  can utilize forensic data to determine if there was flooding in the area where the IoT sensor device  104  malfunctioned; if there was suspicious activity in the area where the IoT sensor device  104  malfunctioned; if a vehicle is visible leaving the area, and if so, whether still or video images can be utilized to acquire a license plate number of the vehicle. On the other hand, if there are no direct physical interactions with the IoT sensor device  104 , then it can be determined the malfunction is due to a cyber-attack or a simple malfunction. Cyber-attacks can be addressed in several ways. For example, security could be increased and/or a honey pot trap could be set to trace the root IP address back to the original hacker. 
     From operation  516 , the method  500  proceeds to operation  518 , wherein the forensic analytics module  216  generates one or more recommendations to mitigate or prevent further sensor malfunctions having similar condition(s). Recommendations can be based around the classification of a sensor malfunction event. In one example classification scheme, sensor malfunction events are classified into four event types as follows: 
     Event Type 1: Natural disaster 
     
         
         
           
             Examples: flood, fire, animal infestation 
             Recommendations: Transfer sensor to a more protected area, supply physical protections.
 
Event Type 2: Human Physical Interaction
 
             Examples: theft or tampering 
             Recommendations: Alert police, contact nearby business to request security camera footage, install security cameras.
 
Event Type 3: Cyber-Attack
 
             Examples: Data theft, data corruption, system takeover 
             Recommendations: deploy security patch, set honey-pot trap to catch hacker&#39;s IP address.
 
Event Type 4: Normal System Malfunction
 
             Examples: loss of transmission capability, loss of sensor function 
             Recommendations: fix or replace instrument. 
           
         
       
    
     From operation  518 , the method  500  proceeds to operation  520 , where the forensic analytics module  216  provides the recommendation(s) to an entity capable of implementing the recommendation(s). For example, the recommendation(s) can be provided to an automated software-based security system, to a software security team, to a private investigator, to law enforcement, to the manufacturer of the IoT sensor device  104  that experienced the malfunction, to a combination thereof, and/or to other entities. From operation  520 , the method  500  proceeds to operation  522 , where the method  500  ends. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 6 , a block diagram  600  illustrating aspects of an IoT sensor device manufacturing timeline  602  will be described, according to an illustrative embodiment. The block diagram  600  includes the IoT sensor device  104 , the sensor web management system dashboard  206 , the unique key database  228 , and the unique key imprint (“imprint”)  312  introduced above in  FIGS. 1-3 . 
     The IoT sensor device manufacturing timeline (“timeline”)  602  begins when the IoT sensor device  104  is manufactured (shown generally at  604 ). During the manufacturing process or thereafter, the IoT sensor device manufacturer or another entity can generate a unique key pair (shown generally at  606 ) and the IoT device  104 ′ can be imprinted (shown generally at  608 ) with the imprint  312 . After being imprinted, the timeline  602  proceeds to device synchronization (shown generally at  610 ) during which the IoT sensor device  104 ″ is synchronized with a master control unit  614 . 
     Synchronization is a process by which the IoT sensor device  104  is paired with the master control unit  614 , which will be listening for the sensor&#39;s data stream. This is done physically to improve security. Frequency maps or the encryption schemes are not broadcast over the Internet. Each of the IoT sensor devices  104  has a unique ID and a frequency map pattern and a simple encryption scheme. This information is saved to the master control unit  614 , which can be implemented as an application that will be listening for the sensor&#39;s data stream. 
     The master control unit  614  shares the unique key pair contained with the imprint  312 ′ with the unique key database  228  by way of the unique key module  220 . In this manner, the sensor web  102  can provide upgraded data security. The master control unit  614  can follow an IoT sensor device&#39;s unique key on a packet-by-packet basis for a given data transmission. For example, a server can listen for a first data packet over a 5 GHz channel, a second data packet over a 2.4 GHz channel, a third data packet over the 2.4 GHz channel, and a fourth data packet over the 5 GHz channel, and so on. Therefore, even if data packets are being sniffed by a hacker, putting the packets back in order or establishing a context for the complete data transmission becomes exponentially more difficult the more IoT sensor devices that are connected to the sensor web  102 . It is possible for an exemplary implementation of a sensor web to include tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands or greater numbers of individual IoT sensor devices. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 7 , a block diagram illustrating a computer system  700  configured to perform various operations disclosed herein. The computer system  700  includes a processing unit  702 , a memory  704 , one or more user interface devices  706 , one or more input/output (“I/O”) devices  708 , and one or more network devices  710 , each of which is operatively connected to a system bus  712 . The system bus  712  enables bi-directional communication between the processing unit  702 , the memory  704 , the user interface devices  706 , the I/O devices  708 , and the network devices  710 . In some embodiments, the sensor web management system  118 , the satellite communications system  106 , other systems disclosed or implied herein, or some combination thereof is/are configured, at least in part, like the computer system  700 . It should be understood, however, that these systems may include additional functionality or include less functionality than now described. 
     The processing unit  702  may be a standard central processor that performs arithmetic and logical operations, a more specific purpose programmable logic controller (“PLC”), a programmable gate array, or other type of processor known to those skilled in the art and suitable for controlling the operation of the computer system  700 . Processing units are generally known, and therefore are not described in further detail herein. 
     The memory  704  communicates with the processing unit  702  via the system bus  712 . In some embodiments, the memory  704  is operatively connected to a memory controller (not shown) that enables communication with the processing unit  702  via the system bus  712 . The illustrated memory  704  includes an operating system  714  and one or more program modules  716 . 
     The operating system  714  can include, but is not limited to, members of the WINDOWS, WINDOWS CE, WINDOWS MOBILE, and/or WINDOWS PHONE families of operating systems from MICROSOFT CORPORATION, the LINUX family of operating systems, the SYMBIAN family of operating systems from SYMBIAN LIMITED, the BREW family of operating systems from QUALCOMM CORPORATION, the MAC OS and/or iOS families of operating systems from APPLE INC., the FREEBSD family of operating systems, the SOLARIS family of operating systems from ORACLE CORPORATION, other operating systems such as proprietary operating systems, and the like. 
     The program modules  716  may include various software and/or program modules described herein. These and/or other programs can be embodied in computer-readable media containing instructions that, when executed by the processing unit  702 , perform one or more operations and/or other functionality as illustrated and described herein. It can be appreciated that, at least by virtue of the instructions embodying, for example, the method  500  and/or other functionality illustrated and described herein being stored in the memory  704  and/or accessed and/or executed by the processing unit  702 , the computer system  700  is a special-purpose computing system that can facilitate providing the functionality illustrated and described herein. According to embodiments, the program modules  716  may be embodied in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. Although not shown in  FIG. 7 , it should be understood that the memory  704  also can be configured to store any data described herein, if desired. 
     The user interface devices  706  may include one or more devices with which a user accesses the computer system  700 . The user interface devices  706  may include, but are not limited to, computers, servers, personal digital assistants, telephones (e.g., cellular, IP, or landline), or any suitable computing devices. The I/O devices  708  enable a user to interface with the program modules. In one embodiment, the I/O devices  708  are operatively connected to an I/O controller (not shown) that enables communication with the processing unit  702  via the system bus  712 . The I/O devices  708  may include one or more input devices, such as, but not limited to, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, or an electronic stylus. Further, the I/O devices  708  may include one or more output devices, such as, but not limited to, a display screen or a printer. 
     The network devices  710  enable the computer system  700  to communicate with other networks or remote systems via a network  718  (e.g., the WWAN WI-FI access network  108 , the WWAN cellular access network  110 , the core network  112 , and/or the PDN(s)  114 . Examples of the network devices  710  include, but are not limited to, a modem, a radio frequency (“RF”) or infrared (“IR”) transceiver, a telephonic interface, a bridge, a router, or a network card. The network  718  may include a wireless network such as, but not limited to, a WLAN such as a WI-FI network, a WWAN, a wireless PAN (“WPAN”) such as BLUETOOTH, or a wireless MAN (“WMAN”). Alternatively, the network  718  may be a wired network such as, but not limited to, a WAN such as the Internet, a LAN such as the Ethernet, a wired PAN, or a wired MAN. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 8 , an illustrative mobile device  800  and components thereof will be described. In some embodiments, one or more of the IoT sensor devices  104  described above and/or other devices described herein can be configured as and/or can have an architecture similar or identical to the mobile device  800  described herein in  FIG. 8 . It should be understood, however, that device described or implied herein may or may not include the functionality described herein with reference to  FIG. 8 . While connections are not shown between the various components illustrated in  FIG. 8 , it should be understood that some, none, or all of the components illustrated in  FIG. 8  can be configured to interact with one another to carry out various device functions. In some embodiments, the components are arranged so as to communicate via one or more busses (not shown). Thus, it should be understood that  FIG. 8  and the following description are intended to provide a general understanding of a suitable environment in which various aspects of embodiments can be implemented, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the mobile device  800  can include a display  802  for displaying data. According to various embodiments, the display  802  can be configured to display network connection information, various graphical user interface (“GUI”) elements, text, images, video, virtual keypads and/or keyboards, messaging data, notification messages, metadata, Internet content, device status, time, date, calendar data, device preferences, map and location data, combinations thereof, and/or the like. The mobile device  800  also can include a processor  804  and a memory or other data storage device (“memory”)  806 . The processor  804  can be configured to process data and/or can execute computer-executable instructions stored in the memory  806 . The computer-executable instructions executed by the processor  804  can include, for example, an operating system  808 , one or more applications  810 , other computer-executable instructions stored in the memory  806 , or the like. In some embodiments, the applications  810  also can include a UI application (not illustrated in  FIG. 8 ). 
     The UI application can interface with the operating system  808  to facilitate user interaction with functionality and/or data stored at the mobile device  800  and/or stored elsewhere. In some embodiments, the operating system  808  can include a member of the SYMBIAN OS family of operating systems from SYMBIAN LIMITED, a member of the WINDOWS MOBILE OS and/or WINDOWS PHONE OS families of operating systems from MICROSOFT CORPORATION, a member of the PALM WEBOS family of operating systems from HEWLETT PACKARD CORPORATION, a member of the BLACKBERRY OS family of operating systems from RESEARCH IN MOTION LIMITED, a member of the IOS family of operating systems from APPLE INC., a member of the ANDROID OS family of operating systems from GOOGLE INC., and/or other operating systems. These operating systems are merely illustrative of some contemplated operating systems that may be used in accordance with various embodiments of the concepts and technologies described herein and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way. 
     The UI application can be executed by the processor  804  to aid a user in data communications, entering/deleting data, entering and setting user IDs and passwords for device access, configuring settings, manipulating content and/or settings, multimode interaction, interacting with other applications  810 , and otherwise facilitating user interaction with the operating system  808 , the applications  810 , and/or other types or instances of data  812  that can be stored at the mobile device  800 . 
     The applications  810 , the data  812 , and/or portions thereof can be stored in the memory  806  and/or in a firmware  814 , and can be executed by the processor  804 . The firmware  814  also can store code for execution during device power up and power down operations. It can be appreciated that the firmware  814  can be stored in a volatile or non-volatile data storage device including, but not limited to, the memory  806  and/or a portion thereof. 
     It can be appreciated that, at least by virtue of storage of the instructions corresponding to the applications  810  and/or other instructions embodying other functionality illustrated and described herein in the memory  806 , and/or by virtue of the instructions corresponding to the applications  810  and/or other instructions embodying other functionality illustrated and described herein being accessed and/or executed by the processor  804 , the mobile device  800  is a special-purpose mobile device that can facilitate providing the functionality illustrated and described herein. The firmware  814  also can store code for execution during device power up and power down operations. It can be appreciated that the firmware  814  can be stored in a volatile or non-volatile data storage device including, but not limited to, the memory  806  and/or a portion thereof. 
     The mobile device  800  also can include an input/output (“I/O”) interface  816 . The I/O interface  816  can be configured to support the input/output of data such as location information, presence status information, user IDs, passwords, and application initiation (start-up) requests. In some embodiments, the I/O interface  816  can include a hardwire connection such as a universal serial bus (“USB”) port, a mini-USB port, a micro-USB port, an audio jack, a PS2 port, an IEEE 1384 (“FIREWIRE”) port, a serial port, a parallel port, an Ethernet (RJ45) port, an RJ11 port, a proprietary port, combinations thereof, or the like. In some embodiments, the mobile device  800  can be configured to synchronize with another device to transfer content to and/or from the mobile device  800 . In some embodiments, the mobile device  800  can be configured to receive updates to one or more of the applications  810  via the I/O interface  816 , though this is not necessarily the case. In some embodiments, the I/O interface  816  accepts I/O devices such as keyboards, keypads, mice, interface tethers, printers, plotters, external storage, touch/multi-touch screens, touch pads, trackballs, joysticks, microphones, remote control devices, displays, projectors, medical equipment (e.g., stethoscopes, heart monitors, and other health metric monitors), modems, routers, external power sources, docking stations, combinations thereof, and the like. It should be appreciated that the I/O interface  816  may be used for communications between the mobile device  800  and a network device or local device. 
     The mobile device  800  also can include a communications component  818 . The communications component  818  can be configured to interface with the processor  804  to facilitate wired and/or wireless communications with one or more networks such as the WWAN WI-FI access network  108  and/or the WWAN cellular access network  110  described herein. In some embodiments, the communications component  818  includes a multimode communications subsystem for facilitating communications via the cellular network and one or more other networks. 
     The communications component  818 , in some embodiments, includes one or more transceivers. The one or more transceivers, if included, can be configured to communicate over the same and/or different wireless technology standards with respect to one another. For example, in some embodiments, one or more of the transceivers of the communications component  818  may be configured to communicate using GSM, CDMAONE, CDMA2000, LTE, and various other 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G, 5G and greater generation technology standards. Moreover, the communications component  818  may facilitate communications over various channel access methods (which may or may not be used by the aforementioned standards) including, but not limited to, TDMA, FDMA, W-CDMA, OFDM, SDMA, and the like. 
     In addition, the communications component  818  may facilitate data communications using GPRS, EDGE, the HSPA protocol family including HSDPA, EUL or otherwise termed HSUPA, HSPA+, and various other current and future wireless data access standards. In the illustrated embodiment, the communications component  818  can include a first transceiver (“TxRx”)  820 A that can operate in a first communications mode (e.g., GSM). The communications component  818  also can include an N th  transceiver (“TxRx”)  820 N that can operate in a second communications mode relative to the first transceiver  820 A (e.g., UMTS). While two transceivers  820 A- 820 N (hereinafter collectively and/or generically referred to as “transceivers  820 ”) are shown in  FIG. 8 , it should be appreciated that less than two, two, and/or more than two transceivers  820  can be included in the communications component  818 . 
     The communications component  818  also can include an alternative transceiver (“Alt TxRx”)  822  for supporting other types and/or standards of communications. According to various contemplated embodiments, the alternative transceiver  822  can communicate using various communications technologies such as, for example, WI-FI, WIMAX, BLUETOOTH, infrared, infrared data association (“IRDA”), near field communications (“NFC”), other RF technologies, combinations thereof, and the like. In some embodiments, the communications component  818  also can facilitate reception from terrestrial radio networks, digital satellite radio networks, internet-based radio service networks, combinations thereof, and the like. The communications component  818  can process data from a network such as the Internet, an intranet, a broadband network, a WI-FI hotspot, an Internet service provider (“ISP”), a digital subscriber line (“DSL”) provider, a broadband provider, combinations thereof, or the like. 
     The mobile device  800  also can include one or more sensors  824 . The sensors  824  can include temperature sensors, light sensors, air quality sensors, movement sensors, accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes, infrared sensors, orientation sensors, noise sensors, microphones proximity sensors, combinations thereof, and/or the like. Additionally, audio capabilities for the mobile device  800  may be provided by an audio I/O component  826 . The audio I/O component  826  of the mobile device  800  can include one or more speakers for the output of audio signals, one or more microphones for the collection and/or input of audio signals, and/or other audio input and/or output devices. 
     The illustrated mobile device  800  also can include a subscriber identity module (“SIM”) system  828 . The SIM system  828  can include a universal SIM (“USIM”), a universal integrated circuit card (“UICC”) and/or other identity devices. The SIM system  828  can include and/or can be connected to or inserted into an interface such as a slot interface  830 . In some embodiments, the slot interface  830  can be configured to accept insertion of other identity cards or modules for accessing various types of networks. Additionally, or alternatively, the slot interface  830  can be configured to accept multiple subscriber identity cards. Because other devices and/or modules for identifying users and/or the mobile device  800  are contemplated, it should be understood that these embodiments are illustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. 
     The mobile device  800  also can include an image capture and processing system  832  (“image system”). The image system  832  can be configured to capture or otherwise obtain photos, videos, and/or other visual information. As such, the image system  832  can include cameras, lenses, charge-coupled devices (“CCDs”), combinations thereof, or the like. The mobile device  800  may also include a video system  834 . The video system  834  can be configured to capture, process, record, modify, and/or store video content. Photos and videos obtained using the image system  832  and the video system  834 , respectively, may be added as message content to an MMS message, email message, and sent to another device. The video and/or photo content also can be shared with other devices via various types of data transfers via wired and/or wireless communication devices as described herein. 
     The mobile device  800  also can include one or more location components  836 . The location components  836  can be configured to send and/or receive signals to determine a geographic location of the mobile device  800 . According to various embodiments, the location components  836  can send and/or receive signals from GPS devices, assisted-GPS (“A-GPS”) devices, WI-FI/WIMAX and/or cellular network triangulation data, combinations thereof, and the like. The location component  836  also can be configured to communicate with the communications component  818  to retrieve triangulation data for determining a location of the mobile device  800 . In some embodiments, the location component  836  can interface with cellular network nodes, telephone lines, satellites, location transmitters and/or beacons, wireless network transmitters and receivers, combinations thereof, and the like. In some embodiments, the location component  836  can include and/or can communicate with one or more of the sensors  824  such as a compass, an accelerometer, and/or a gyroscope to determine the orientation of the mobile device  800 . Using the location component  836 , the mobile device  800  can generate and/or receive data to identify its geographic location, or to transmit data used by other devices to determine the location of the mobile device  800 . The location component  836  may include multiple components for determining the location and/or orientation of the mobile device  800 . 
     The illustrated mobile device  800  also can include a power source  838 . The power source  838  can include one or more batteries, power supplies, power cells, and/or other power subsystems including alternating current (“AC”) and/or direct current (“DC”) power devices. The power source  838  also can interface with an external power system or charging equipment via a power I/O component  840 . Because the mobile device  800  can include additional and/or alternative components, the above embodiment should be understood as being illustrative of one possible operating environment for various embodiments of the concepts and technologies described herein. The described embodiment of the mobile device  800  is illustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way. 
     As used herein, communication media includes computer-executable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics changed or set in a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media. Combinations of the any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. 
     By way of example, and not limitation, computer storage media may include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-executable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. For example, computer media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (“DVD”), HD-DVD, BLU-RAY, or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the mobile device  800  or other devices or computers described herein, such as the computer system  800  described above with reference to  FIG. 8 . For purposes of the claims, the phrase “computer-readable storage medium” and variations thereof, does not include waves, signals, and/or other transitory and/or intangible communication media, per se. 
     Encoding the software modules presented herein also may transform the physical structure of the computer-readable media presented herein. The specific transformation of physical structure may depend on various factors, in different implementations of this description. Examples of such factors may include, but are not limited to, the technology used to implement the computer-readable media, whether the computer-readable media is characterized as primary or secondary storage, and the like. For example, if the computer-readable media is implemented as semiconductor-based memory, the software disclosed herein may be encoded on the computer-readable media by transforming the physical state of the semiconductor memory. For example, the software may transform the state of transistors, capacitors, or other discrete circuit elements constituting the semiconductor memory. The software also may transform the physical state of such components in order to store data thereupon. 
     As another example, the computer-readable media disclosed herein may be implemented using magnetic or optical technology. In such implementations, the software presented herein may transform the physical state of magnetic or optical media, when the software is encoded therein. These transformations may include altering the magnetic characteristics of particular locations within given magnetic media. These transformations also may include altering the physical features or characteristics of particular locations within given optical media, to change the optical characteristics of those locations. Other transformations of physical media are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the present description, with the foregoing examples provided only to facilitate this discussion. 
     In light of the above, it should be appreciated that many types of physical transformations may take place in the mobile device  800  in order to store and execute the software components presented herein. It is also contemplated that the mobile device  800  may not include all of the components shown in  FIG. 8 , may include other components that are not explicitly shown in  FIG. 8 , or may utilize an architecture completely different than that shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     Turning now to  FIG. 9 , additional details of a network  900  are illustrated, according to an illustrative embodiment. The network  900  includes a cellular network  902 , a packet data network  904 , for example, the Internet, and a circuit switched network  906 , for example, a publicly switched telephone network (“PSTN”). The cellular network  902  includes various components such as, but not limited to, base transceiver stations (“BTSs”), Node-B&#39;s or e-Node-B&#39;s, base station controllers (“BSCs”), radio network controllers (“RNCs”), mobile switching centers (“MSCs”), mobile management entities (“MMEs”), short message service centers (“SMSCs”), multimedia messaging service centers (“MMSCs”), home location registers (“HLRs”), home subscriber servers (“HSSs”), visitor location registers (“VLRs”), charging platforms, billing platforms, voicemail platforms, GPRS core network components, location service nodes, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (“IMS”), and the like. The cellular network  902  also includes radios and nodes for receiving and transmitting voice, data, and combinations thereof to and from radio transceivers, networks, the packet data network  904 , and the circuit switched network  906 . 
     A mobile communications device  908 , such as, for example, a cellular telephone, a user equipment, a mobile terminal, a PDA, a laptop computer, a handheld computer, and combinations thereof, can be operatively connected to a cellular network. The cellular network  902  can be configured as a 2G Global System for Mobile communications (“GSM”) network and can provide data communications via General Packet Radio Service (“GPRS”) and/or Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (“EDGE”). Additionally, or alternatively, the cellular network  902  can be configured as a 3G Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (“UMTS”) network and can provide data communications via the High-Speed Packet Access (“HSPA”) protocol family, for example, High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (“HSDPA”), Enhanced UpLink (“EUL”) (also referred to as High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (“HSUPA”)), and HSPA+. The cellular network  902  also is compatible with 4G mobile communications standards such as Long-Term Evolution (“LTE”), or the like, as well as evolved and future mobile standards. 
     The packet data network  904  includes various devices, for example, servers, computers, databases, and other devices in communication with one another, as is generally known. The packet data network  904  devices are accessible via one or more network links. The servers often store various files that are provided to a requesting device such as, for example, a computer, a terminal, a smartphone, or the like. Typically, the requesting device includes software (a “browser”) for executing a web page in a format readable by the browser or other software. Other files and/or data may be accessible via “links” in the retrieved files, as is generally known. In some embodiments, the packet data network  904  includes or is in communication with the Internet. The circuit switched network  906  includes various hardware and software for providing circuit switched communications. The circuit switched network  906  may include, or may be, what is often referred to as a plain old telephone system (“POTS”). The functionality of a circuit switched network  906  or other circuit-switched network are generally known and will not be described herein in detail. 
     The illustrated cellular network  902  is shown in communication with the packet data network  904  and a circuit switched network  906 , though it should be appreciated that this is not necessarily the case. One or more Internet-capable devices  99 , for example, a PC, a laptop, a portable device, or another suitable device, can communicate with one or more cellular networks  902 , and devices connected thereto, through the packet data network  904 . It also should be appreciated that the Internet-capable device  99  can communicate with a packet data network through the circuit switched network  906 , the cellular network  902 , and/or via other networks (not illustrated). 
     As illustrated, a communications device  912 , for example, a telephone, facsimile machine, modem, computer, or the like, can be in communication with the circuit switched network  906 , and therethrough to the packet data network  904  and/or the cellular network  902 . It should be appreciated that the communications device  912  can be an Internet-capable device, and can be substantially similar to the Internet-capable device  99 . In the specification, the network  900  is used to refer broadly to any combination of the networks  902 ,  904 ,  906 . It should be appreciated that substantially all of the functionality described with reference to the network  900  can be performed by the cellular network  902 , the packet data network  904 , and/or the circuit switched network  906 , alone or in combination with other networks, network elements, and the like. 
     Based on the foregoing, it should be appreciated that concepts and technologies for a sensor web management system for IoT sensor devices with physically imprinted unique frequency keys has been disclosed herein. Although the subject matter presented herein has been described in language specific to computer structural features, methodological and transformative acts, specific computing machinery, and computer-readable media, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features, acts, or media described herein. Rather, the specific features, acts and mediums are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims. 
     The subject matter described above is provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed as limiting. Various modifications and changes may be made to the subject matter described herein without following the example embodiments and applications illustrated and described, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of the subject disclosure.