What is the IoT?

Definition The IoT is an abbreviation of the English Internet of Things — the term Kevin Ashton coined back in 1999. The IoT is a concept of interconnected computing devices and unique identifiers connected...

Definition

The IoT is an abbreviation of the English Internet of Things — the term Kevin Ashton coined back in 1999.

The IoT is a concept of interconnected computing devices and unique identifiers connected to people, animals and other objects. Implementation of this idea will enable to increase the speed of data transfer in the network as computers will no longer be required to enter the Internet.

Purpose

Anything can become а «thing» in the IoT — a person with a heart implant, a farmer’s cow with a biochip, a car with built-in sensors to provide more security to the driver and alert him.

The technology has an extremely broad variety of applications from the military to light industry to the social sphere and even culture.

Electronic devices connected to a human can monitor his condition and call the doctor anonymously when a health problem is detected. The IoT can be applied in security systems and is increasingly integrated in business processes.

The Internet of Things enables entrepreneurs to:

• Monitor business processes;
• Improve customer service;
• Save time;
• Raise labour productivity;
• Take more efficient business decisions.

Issues and the future

The Internet of Things combines billions of devices and uses huge numbers of data points that need secure protection. Given the scale of the IoT, it is a no easy task and the system’s privacy will be under permanent threat.

Since the IoT devices are connected, the only thing a hacker needs is to identify vulnerability — it will enable him to untangle the entire system and get access to all data. So developers need to constantly upgrade their devices in order not to fall victim to cyber attacks.

Moreover, smart gadgets often ask users to enter their personal data which may be of great interest to hackers. Unfortunately, they are not the only challenge, as companies that offer IoT devices may also misuse confidential information by selling it, for example.

So data leakages from the IoT pose risk to the entire infrastructure. The future clearly belongs to the IoT, but its implementation in everyday life will go slowly until clear-cut and reliable information protection methods are developed.