We all are dealing with internet and computing devices in almost each and every activity we do. So Internet of Things (IoT) is a term that we all have heard at some point in our university life.
Actually what is this Internet of Things? What made this concept become this popular? And how it relates with globalization and technological development?
These are some of the basic problems that each and every computing device users need to know. So let us have a look on these to stay awake in the IoT world and to select the best component out there to fit our requirements.
Internet of Things is a broad area to discuss. So in simple words Internet of Things (IoT) is the connectivity of computing devices, electronic components, mechanical and digital machines that enable these objects to collect and exchange data using embedded sensors and with less requiring of human interaction.
There are so many applications of the Internet of Things. Let’s see some of those applications and how those application functionalities have arranged for the easy access of users.
The first IoT application is the Smart Home. It is likely the most popular IoT application at the moment because it is the one that is most affordable and readily available to consumers. There are hundreds of products available in the market that users can control with their voices to make their lives more connected than ever. As an example, if someone wants to speed up the ceiling fan or to switch on a bulb without getting up from his seat, he can do that with the usage of IoT applications. And there are many more tasks like play music, provide a weather report, get sports scores, order an Uber, and more just by the voice assistant which is used in this Smart Home. Amazon Echo is an example for this concept.
Second application is Wearable Devices such as smartwatches, Fitbit and Jawbone. These simple devices have revolutionized the functions of wearable devices from just telling time to setting up an alarm to text messaging, phone calls, tackling a location and many more unbelievable tasks.
These IoT associated wearable devices have added value to the way of operating a simple device by giving people more data about their workouts. Fitbit One is an example for such a wearable. It can track our steps, stairs climbed, calories burned and sleep quality. The device wirelessly synchronize with computers and smartphones in order to transmit our fitness data. It depicts these information in charts to monitor our progress and helps to forecast health details.
The next application is Smart Cities. IoT has the capability to turn cities into nicer places by solving actual problems within cities. With the proper connections and data, the Internet of Things can solve traffic congestion issues and reduce noise, crime and pollution of a city and make it more beautiful, less noisy and calm. Barcelona is an example for a Smart City.
Connected Car is another application of IoT. These vehicles have Internet access and is able to share it too. More vehicles are starting to come equipped with this functionality, so prepare to see more apps included in future cars that will amazingly touch your five senses.
Some of these IoT applications are shown below.
There are so many advantages of using Internet of things and its applications as we discussed above. But we cannot keep away the bad side of those devices. We decide to hand over control of most personal and private details of our lives to basically a machine which has no feelings at all. So we will definitely have to think twice before letting everything to be handled by a “Thing” or a non-human device.
There can be issues like privacy concerns, insufficient authorization, lack of transport encryption, insecure web interface, insecure software or firmware and etc. Many of these devices fail to ask for passwords of sufficient complexity and length, they do not use encryption when transmitting sensitive data across the LAN and internet, many of these devices’ web interfaces were vulnerable to cross-site scripting, had poor session management and weak default credentials.
We cannot neglect the benefits that IoT has given us to make it easy and efficient in each and every aspect of our lives just by referring to these few vulnerabilities. So we will have to avoid these issues and will have to ensure that security is a consideration throughout the product life cycle. We can take following steps to secure IoT devices.
Reference:
http://internetofthingsagenda.techtarget.com/definition/Internet-of-Things-IoT[Accessed:07th February 2017]
Article by : Veena Nanayakkara
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