For those looking for the “next big thing” in the technological revolution, most are looking outside the billion-device scope of what is already here—the Internet of Things. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of physical devices built on cloud computing, revolving around increased machine-to-machine communication. Networks of data-gathering sensors and machines contribute to mobile, virtual, and instantaneous connection of information through cloud-based applications. With 22.9 billion connected devices worldwide, and growing, the IoT appears more like an unstoppable force rather than a technology trend. With that said, here are five reasons why the world domination of the Internet of Things will doom us all.
1. Security, or lack thereof
The IoT allows objects to be sensed and controlled remotely across existing network infrastructure, creating more opportunities to directly integrate the physical world into cloud-based systems. Conversely, as the number of IoT devices connected to a single network rise, so too do the number of potential attack vectors available to hackers; a single compromised node is enough to access the entire network. With millions of devices lacking transport encryption, exhibiting insufficient authentication and authorization, as well as insecure software and firmware, manufacturers have not yet fully grasped the implication of treating security as a priority, leading to some dire issues down the road. A 2015 IoT security report compiled by HP found that 60% to 80% of devices tested lacked one or all of these precautions. .
From Target’s 2013 data breach to ongoing Chinese cyber espionage attacks on U.S. companies, hackers have no problem obtaining the computer-based data they want, which could include the feed from a home baby monitor or laptop camera.
Cyberattackers exploit any weakness or vulnerability they can access. With the IoT, any additional unsecure connected devices or sensors introduced to a network can become a potential entry point or attack vector into the network. As John Pironti, president of IP Architects puts it, “a lot of adversaries, and a lot of people who are looking at this problem, aren't looking at it as 'let me go and attack your toaster': they're looking at it as 'let me attack your toaster to use it as a way to get into the rest of your network'.” The scramble among companies to develop devices and solutions for the IoT demand is leaving products lacking in basic back-end security elements, leaving the rest of your IoT network exposed.
2. Privacy: the big money is in big data
While data collection on IoT devices is purposed to make the consumer’s life easier, the value of Big Data is even more beneficial for corporations. The robustness of the IoT device market is due, in part, to benefits of gathering consumer data, not necessarily from revenue on the actual devices being sold.
Many popular consumer smart home devices like theNest andALLie Home have integrated cloud services to provide on-demand access for managing data and information streaming. For companies, however, one of the biggest draws of cloud storage is the ability to tap into vast quantities of both structures and unstructured data to extract business value. According toIBM , data is the world’s newest resource for competitive advantage, and companies are taking note with IoT development.
Things like what time you set your DVR to record a TV show, or when you activate your smart lighting, may seem trivial, but the corporate value of big data is in patterns. What shows you watch, what apps you use, and which ads influence your buying behavior all contribute to an IoT network of behavioral data. Once big companies know how and why you behave, they know how to influence your behavior.
3. Digital Fatigue
Just as Pokémon Go has turned the millennial generation into herds of walking zombies, everything from social media to smartwatches is driving our attention away from the real world and into the digital realm. Smartphone apps, YouTube videos, and 140-character Tweets are augmenting the distinction between the physical relationships and the digital interactions, and people are getting sick of it.
Now the IoT promises to connect the internet to our thermostats, appliances, jackets, e-books, eyeglasses, etc. furthering encouraging users to spend additional hours of their lives connected to devices; digital fatigue is fast becoming a common and accepted part of life, plaguing people with headaches, tired, burning, stinging eyes, and even neck or back pain. So what is the cure to digital fatigue? Not the connecting everything to the internet of things. Instead, do so selectively.
4. Ecosystem wars
Labeled as the next “Industrial Revolution,” the IoT has companies fighting to be the Thomas Edison of IoT architecture. Despite premier programming platform frontrunners like Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS, the digitally connected world has yet to declare a collective ecosystem through which to connect the things of the IoT.
The concept of locking products behind ecosystems is nothing new, and Apple has been doing that for years with its range of devices from smartphones to smart watches; over 100 models of cars from Ford to Ferrari even feature Apple CarPlay, which uses the familiar iOS interface to control everything from in-car music entertainment to sending a text off your smartphone. Furthermore, once you decide on an ecosystem, you are essentially selling your soul, deterred to switch by the sheer nuisance of change and the ease of maintaining all of your devices on the same platform. If the purpose of the IoT is to connect all things, consumers and producers need to decide on a ubiquitous platform that encompasses the wider majority of solutions.
The IoT ecosystem and its vastness of rapidly expanding possibilities is creating numerous challenges for regularity. The success of IoT depends strongly on standardization, which could provide compatibility and effective operations on a global scale. So, with everyone from startups looking to create their own ecosystem to the Apples and Googles of the world trying to expand their own programming environments, who will win the ecosystem turf war?
5. Big brother
From privacy issues to ecosystem wars, it seems that the simple solution to many of the proposed issues is to put consumers in control of device security, put them in charge of what data gets released to big companies, and let them turn off devices when they need some privacy. However, if there is anything we can learn from George Orwell’s 1984, it is that you can’t escape Big Brother’s watchful eye. The big money is in using IoT to influence consumer behavior using the information gathered from connected devices. If consumers could simply turn off the features big corporations use to earn the big bucks, they would then have no reason to build up the IoT.
According to U.S. Intelligence Boss James Clapper, everyone from big businesses to the government will use IoT data to gather intel on consumers : “The whole point of the IoT is spying. The officialdom is just trying to persuade you that it really is a big consumer benefit to be able to tell your oven to start heating up before you get home. In the future, intelligence services might use the [IoT] for identification, surveillance, monitoring, location tracking, and targeting for recruitment, or to gain access to networks or user credentials.”
As the battle for control of the IoT between vendors and consumers commences, it is important to remember that the Internet of things, a network of connected devices is, at its core, an extraordinarily powerful network of people, and it is people who will allow the IoT flounder or flourish.
Sources: WIRED, ZDNet, Statista , HP, IEEE
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