## 4 Security and Privacy of IoNT
### Privacy of IoNT  
Nanodevices can pose privacy risks if they are not properly secured. The following describes some of the key loopholes that malicious users can use to violate the privacy of the IoNT:  
1. Data collection  
Nanodevices can collect and transmit a large amount of data about their surroundings and the people who come into contact with them [9]. These data could be used to track individuals' movements and activities, potentially leading to privacy violations, if they are not adequately secured;  
2. Data security  
As with any connected device, nanodevices are vulnerable to hacking and data breaches [22]. If a nanodevice is hacked, the attacker could potentially access sensitive data collected by the device;  
3. Location tracking and surveillance  
Some nanodevices, such as those used for environmental monitoring, may be equipped with GPS or other location-tracking technology [23]. This could allow someone to track an individual's movements in real time, potentially violating their privacy [4];  
4. Lack of regulation  
There is currently a lack of regulation around the use of IoNT devices, which can make it difficult to ensure that the privacy of such solutions is adequately protected [17].  
Having provided a brief understanding of focal points that a typical attacker targets in a typical IoNT solution, in the next section, we highlight the security goals of the IoNT which every IoNT solution must satisfy to tighten the security and privacy of such solutions. These goals are as follows:  
* Confidentiality  
Refers to the practice of avoiding the exposure of sensitive information to third parties who are not authorized to access it. When it comes to the IoNT, the secrecy of data must be ensured both when the data is at rest and when it is being sent between various nanodevices [17; 36; 37; 38; 39; 40; 41]. On the other hand, communications that are sent back and forth between a sender and a receiver ought to be shielded from the view of any user who is malevolent or who has not verified themselves;  
* Integrity  
Refers to the maintenance of the consistency, accuracy, and reliability of data across its full existence; data must not be altered in transit, and precautions must be taken to prevent malicious users from altering data [36; 37; 38; 39; 40; 41]. Integrity checks, such as those provided by digital signatures based on cryptographic hash functions, need to be made available not only on the microscale components of IoNT systems but also on the nanoscale communication devices as well as the gateways [61; 62; 63]. Further integrity checks can be carried out at each node engaged in the message exchange between the sender and the receiver, or they can be carried out solely at end-user systems;* Availability The availability of information to authorized persons should be consistent and straightforward. Consequently, in the context of the IoNT, a malicious user must never be able to interrupt or negatively impact the communication or quality of service offered by nanodevices or nanonetworks [35; 36; 37; 38; 39; 40; 41]. Thus, IoNT availability should be guaranteed for components operating at both the microscale and the nanoscale;
* Authenticity Ensures that the source of message transmission is reliable and prevents the attacker from sending bogus messages [36; 37; 38; 39]. In general, IoNT security goals have to be followed when developing, configuring, and deploying IoNT solutions to guarantee the security and privacy of the IoNT. Despite the fact that solutions are developed in such a way to achieve such goals, some challenges still exist which would provide potential ways for attackers to compromise vulnerabilities and breach the security and privacy of the IoNT. Thus, in this regard, in the next subsection, we provide a brief overview of such security and privacy challenges pertaining to IoNT.