IoT in action
By: Andres Martin
Tags: Smart Home, Internet of Things, IoT, Smart Cities

IoT in action

It is a term we hear constant talk about. Internet of Things or IoT for its acronym in English is a somewhat abstract concept but has been gaining popularity in recent months. The idea it tries to represent is quite well illustrated by his name, everyday things that connect to the Internet, but in reality, it is much more than that.

To understand what the Internet of things is about, we must also understand that its foundations are not new at all. For about 30 years, it has been working with the idea of making all everyday objects a little more interactive. Ideas such as the smart home, also known as the house of tomorrow, have evolved before we realized the connected home to enter the Internet of things. The Internet of things powers objects that were formerly connected by a closed circuit, such as communicators, cameras, sensors, and so on, and allows them to communicate globally through the use of the network of networks.

If we were to give a definition of the Internet of things, it would probably be best to say that it is a network that interconnects physical objects using the Internet. Mentioned objects use embedded systems, or what is the same, specialized hardware that allows not only Internet connectivity, but also schedules specific events based on tasks that are dictated remotely. source hipertextual.com

Why the Internet of things?

The IoT offers new and innovative organizations ways to manage and monitor remote operations. It allows having eyes and ears in remote places, constantly feeding applications and data stores with information. The low cost of “things” allows observing and managing activities that were previously out of reach. With the Internet of things, it is also possible to collect information about events that were once invisible, such as correlating weather patterns with industrial production.

Very briefly, the Internet of Things is a concept that is based on the interconnection of any product with any others around it. From a book to the refrigerator in your own home. The goal is to make all these devices communicate with each other and, therefore, be more intelligent and independent. For this, it is necessary to use the IPv6 protocol and the development of numerous technologies that are currently being designed by the main companies in the sector.

Its significance can be crucial in both economic and social fields. Even older than the digital age. And it is that the Internet of Things allows computers to interact with elements of real-life and gain independence from human beings, leaving us in command of what is really important. source expressvpn.com

source unsplash.com

Internet of Things Home automation is one of the main fields of application of IoT.

A practical example: thanks to the Internet of Things, our refrigerators would be able to measure the remaining food inside and instruct the specified supplier for the used items. Thus, we will never have to worry about buying milk, eggs or our favorite yogurts. The refrigerator will continuously measure the stock and act independently accordingly.

Wearables are another example.

Everyday things like t-shirts, watches or bracelets, become smart thanks to the application of this concept. Now the clocks not only provide us with the time but also connect to the internet, exchange data with external servers and act accordingly to the information they collect from both the sensors and the servers.

Internet of Things Wearables is a clear example of everyday objects connected to the internet. They can also be applied more deeply to the home. By distributing a series of sensors and processors, we could automate window control, home temperature, lights, etc. And, since the entire system is connected to the internet, it would also be possible to wirelessly control what we want.

Smart Cities.

Another of the main fields of application of the Internet of Things is cities, making them smarter and more efficient. For example many times we wait for a red traffic light in a totally absurd way, because there is no car or any person around us. Thanks to the Internet of Things, these traffic lights can be connected to a circuit of cameras distributed throughout the city that identify the level of traffic and mass movement, thus avoiding those absurd waits in areas of limited movement.

The standardization of IoT will have a great economic and social impact

source unsplash.com

Autonomous cars.

Internet of Things The Internet of Things will also open the door to autonomous cars.

Another example of the application of the Internet of Things to cities is found in traffic signs. Applying the IoT, if we go at a higher speed than what is allowed, our car would reduce it automatically upon receiving the data of any of the signals that surround us. This, in parallel, would facilitate the arrival and expansion of autonomous cars in our lives.

If we take the Internet of Things to wider areas such as national security or business, the significance and possibilities are even greater. For example automated orchards, intelligent lighting, machine supervision … The economic impact of this type of project would be awesome, as it would replace many current jobs and, above all, would involve considerable long-term cost savings. It would be almost the second Industrial Revolution.

As we can see, the Internet of Things is clearly the next big step in the technology industry. It opens up a world of untold possibilities, even greater than the one that opened the digital era at the time. Everything would be based on the contextual, achieving greater independence from humans and, therefore, greater efficiency and comfort. The first steps are already being taken (standards, first prototypes, and projects, etc.), but, according to various analysts, it will not be until 2020 when the Internet of Things begins to be something much more established and common among mortals.

Privacy and security concerns in IoT

source unsplash.com

A recent study shows that many companies have thousands of IoT devices (Internet of Things) that are not directly related to the business, but that connect to their network daily. source universidadviu.com

The task of managing unauthorized devices on business networks is becoming much more difficult in many organizations with the increasing use of personal property IoT products in the workplace.

Recently, Infoblox commissioned a survey of 1,000 IT directors in the US. UU., The United Kingdom, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates to understand the security implications of IoT devices owned by individual users and not a business in organizational networks. The results were shocking:

Thirty-five percent of respondents in the first three countries reported more than 5,000 non-business IoT devices connected to their average business network every day.

One-third of respondents in the US In the US, the United Kingdom, and Germany reported that, on a normal business day, more than 1,000 IoT devices connected to their network can be found.

Thirty-nine percent of respondents in the US UU. And the United Kingdom said they used personal IoT devices while connected to the corporate network to access social networks, 24% acknowledged having used these types of devices to download applications, while 13% did so to access their preferred games.

The most common unauthorized IoT devices in business networks are the following:

Physical activity trackers, such as Fitbit and Gear Fit.

Digital assistants, such as Google Home and Amazon Alexa.

Smart TVs

Smart kitchen devices, such as microwaves and kettles connected.

The proliferation of this class of IoT devices significantly increases the security burden for organizations and raises the risk threshold. Due to the increase in the use of this technology and its normalization in everyday life, security administrators have a huge task, simply by managing the sanctioned devices in the company’s network.

L aptops and tablets are sharing networks in companies with this other class of IoT devices, many of which are connected without any control by the organization, which does not even know its existence.

The exponential increase in the amount of insecure and unauthorized IoT devices that are added to the company’s networks puts companies, their users, customers and their entire network at risk because, due to the low-security levels of Many of these consumer devices, there is a real threat to fight against.

These types of insecure and vulnerable IoT devices present a weak entry point for cybercriminals in the network and a serious security risk for the company, which could be tackled with training, information and evaluation that would detect their presence on the network, to Put measures in time.

Did you know that IoT devices with inadequate security can provide cybercriminals with an entry point to enter the company’s network? Were you aware that they would facilitate data theft through methods such as DNS tunneling?

To Summarize…

IoT brings to our society uncountable possibilities for the next industrial revolution where coming devices will be autonomous enough, to perform a repetitive task that we do nowadays, and the possibility to have interconnected cities, communities, and people through technology.

Thanks for reading, if you liked this story please share it! : )