The world of technology is abuzz nowadays with talk of the so-called Internet of Things, or IoT. Indeed, one can find the phrase sprinkled liberally across the pages of this very publication.
Yup, the Internet of Things is huge, no doubt about it. For starters, it’s a huge concept. Any device that’s ‘connected’ – by wire or wirelessly – can be controlled and monitored. It’s also huge geographically, as it will eventually grow to become a true worldwide web connecting almost everyone on Earth with their ‘things’ – and with everyone else’s things, which raises a bit of a concern over security.
Professional hackers calling themselves security researchers have already demonstrated the ability to hack into IoT-enabled light bulbs and fridges. They’ve managed to gain control of a car through its diagnostics interface. Russia allegedly hacked into a US oil refinery in 2014. One air passenger even claimed to have tapped into a commercial aircraft’s control systems via the infotainment centre on his seat.
The industry is hard at work developing very robust standards that will prevent things like this from happening in future so as to avert potential disaster. But then as any computer user knows, the IT industry, which is already highly mature and despite all the security precautions it’s put in place over the years, still suffers breaches – regularly.
Unless we’re very, very careful about how we deploy it, the Internet of Things might ultimately become a huge problem.
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