IoT: A World Connected
IoT, or Internet of Things, refers to the word of devices connected over the internet exchanging information. Popular examples currently are Ring doorbells and Nest Thermometers. These devices have create a world that blends the virtual world and the physical one. Even your phone is a IoT device, constantly transmitting data over the internet from its various sensors. If you will the most common idea of what these devices will be most used for can be seen in the movie Smart House from 1999. A house completely controlled by a virtual personality (PAT: Personal Applied Technology) that can meet any and every need you have. Floors, that vacuum themselves, Fridges that order the groceries you are short on, and lights that turn on and off depending wether anybody is home in the short period of time since that movie released, We have seen a lot of devices like that come into existence. However, the existence of these devices brings a lot of questions. It is important to ask about the security and cohesion of this networks of “things”.
Lots of these devices are designed to automate parts of your life, or make certain elements of the world more efficient. For instance, let’s take a look at the Nest Thermostat. You can control the temperature of your home from an app on your phone in case you forgot to turn it down while you went on vacation, or before you left the house for the day, but what makes the Nest more of than just a long distance arm, is the ability for the Nest thermostat to control the temperature on its own and choose the most energy efficient temperature to save the home owner money on heating and cooling costs.
IoT devices have also have increased security in homes. The Ring doorbell allows people to keep track of who is coming up to their doors, allowing communication even when away, and uploading the footage to the cloud automatically.
More and more, devices like these will continue to embed themselves into the world. These devices even become networks that work together. Amazon’s “employee-less” store. Is an example of multiple cameras and sensors working in tandem. This network allows you to walk in, scan you amazon app, grab your items and leave without every having to interact with another person.
However, I that if the topic of IoT is going to be discussed, security needs to be discussed. Even though IoT devices can make life easier, these devices could pose a threat to your safety. The internet is constant source of security problems. We have already seen many instance of large companies having compromised user data: account info, photos, credit cards, and locations. With more and more data being used on the internet it is constant concern to make sure that this info is stored in a secure way. However, as we all know, you make a better lock, someone makes a better skeleton key. I do not think that anyone who uses the internet currently is blind to the fact that browsing incurs a risk of theft. Theft evolved from physically breaking into someone’s house to hacking into their accounts.
The perfect example of these devices being more dangerous that they appear can be found in Las Vegas. Las Vegas is known for its extravagance, and some of that comes in the form of large fish tanks with exotic fish on display. An IoT thermostat can help regulate the temperature of the water for these fish that require a more intense level of care. The casino did not know that this simple internet connected device, also connected to their system, was a weak point in their network. A group was able to hack the device and gain access to the casinos databases. Something as simple as a thermostat was able to poke a hole in a city where security is a part of the aesthetic. Stories like this highlight how it is so increasingly important to consider the rate of adoption for IoT technology. To adopt these devices, it is a necessity that proper research is done on the company and device. It is also important to make sure that the access to the internal network is limited or non existent if the security of the device is in question.
If we take theses flaws and think about how much we use these devices, especially as Alexa and Google assistants become a staple in the modern home. We have to consider how we protect ourselves, and how we ask companies to protect out data. This is already on the minds of many IoT developers. It can be broken down into 4 parts: data confidentiality, data integrity, non-repudiation, and data-availability. Data confidentiality is the concern that data can be tied to the user. Data Integrity is making sure that the data isn’t corrupted at any point in the collection or transmission process. Non-repudiation is the concern that a user will refute the validity of certain sent data (i.e. “I didn’t place that order!”). Data-availability is the more common concern that the simple existence of the data means people with want it, how do you store it safely? The cloud is not as mysterious as people make it, It is physical groupings of servers and when all the devices are connected to these servers that is a lot of data and keeping track of that massive amount of data gets incredibly difficult.
Security is also just once concern of the IoT. As with all large networks at a certain point standardization becomes increasingly important. More devices from more companies means that multiple developers are making their own systems for transmitting data. Eventually just like the internet, the language that these devices use to communicate will need to be unified. If the goal is one day a network of devices working together to fast track elements of society, a shared data collection will be needed.
All these concerns are more about how the system works, and making sure it works correctly, but another question is needed. Does soviet need this network? Throughout time, the evolution of technology has always brought concern. Just because it seems quicker, faster, smarter, doesn’t mean that it is a good system. In the era of Big Data, the idea of having your personal details bought and sold by companies to better sell you products is not something that many people are fond of. IoT takes that information collection to the next level and allows a more complete view of a consumer to a company. Now some companies are trying to assure that the collection only happens at will. Google home devices have a mute switch that disables the mic allowing for some sense of privacy, but this is not the case for all devices. An easy way for companies to build trust will be to have physical switches that make it easier for user to feel safe operating the tech and allowing them to have a sense of control over the devices that they have brought into their home.
So the question has to be asked, is there a way forward that allows for both privacy and the IoT to exist? I think the answer is yes. As privacy becomes more valuable, more and more opportunities to capitalize on that exist. Eventually solution for anonymizing you data could become fairly common. Easy ways to encrypt and send data without knowing who it came from. I think was is inevitable is the growth of IoT though. Many people choose to not care about the data sharing and think that if the cost of extra convenience is some data being used to market to them, its not a problem. But for many the idea of being “spied on” is too spooky. So regardless of the truth, the IoT really needs some good PR in order to continue its expansion. Without it we could see a society that chooses its privacy over convenience. Although history doesn’t really point to that happening. I do like the idea of a society that functions more ecologically safe, more secure and allows for more leisure, if we can ensure that the devices are used correctly and not just as an extension of the marketing network.
Personally I think the IoT is exciting, I can get behind the theoretical benefits of an interconnected world of devices that make my life easier. I do think that you should adopt the devices with caution though. Do the research on the companies and make sure that they handle data safety and securely. Search for past data breaches. How did the company handle them? Because I honestly think that a world where I never have to face and empty milk carton, flip a light switch, or vacuum is a pretty cool one. I just think that I don’t want to have my milk carton have ads for the brand new bike tire inner tubes I just talked about yesterday on it.
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