Today’s Internet connects people, governments, academia and business. The already emerging Internet of Things (IoT) goes far beyond that. Largely enabled by embedded computing devices and ubiquitous communications, the Internet of Things reaches to vehicles, homes, towns and cities, commerce, Manufacturing and every aspect of industry.
The most important thing to know about the IoT: Soon, everything that uses electricity, including electricity from batteries or solar power, will be able to communicate. The Internet was computers, networks and servers. The Internet of Things is just about everything you can imagine. It is sensors, speakers, cameras, entertainment devices, medical devices homes, cars, boats, chairs, toasters, you name it. It is all being networked together.
The IoT is bringing countless benefits to humanity. There are threats to be sure, but most of those can be mitigated.
A snapshot of the Trend right now indicates:
- Use cases include enhancements to education, training, safety, security, healthcare, transportation and optimized manufacturing.
- The industrial and manufacturing variant of this trend, known as the Industrial Internet of Things, is automating manufacturing processes and capabilities and generating efficiencies that make this another unstoppable trend.
The threat dynamics around this trend includes many privacy implications. If an adversary can penetrate the IoT devices in a home or office, then in some cases they may be able to collect information you would not want them to have, perhaps even video or audio of private and sensitive discussions. Interruptions of Industrial Internet of Things capabilities can degrade manufacturing performance and must also be taken very seriously.
Our recommendation: continue to learn about the impact of the IoT. Do that here at Things Cyber!
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