How IoT will change your homes (Final Part)
In my previous article I explained IoT, or Internet of Things, and what it is used for.
IoT is the interconnection of all types of devices in our home through a network. This network can be private or it can be the network itself or the internet. The idea would be that all these devices can be identified to be recognised and interact with each other without the need for human intervention. Therefore, it is a machine-tomachine interaction, or what is known as the M2M.
My washing machine is having an affair with my oven?
Another important part is the hardware itself and the technologies that each device can use for its proper functioning. This is where the sensors, processors, etc. come into play. And, without forgetting, the communication technologies themselves, whether through WiFi, cable or 3G, 4G mobile networks or in the future 5G. And of course, the technologies used to ensure that all the information travels securely over the network.
Surely, many wonder how it is possible that one appliance can communicate with another and the other understands and executes certain orders, or that a device is capable of performing a certain task based on parameters or signals received by sensors, etc.
The truth is that for IoT to work, we only need the devices to be correctly equipped with the necessary hardware that allows them to connect to the internet and a telecommunications infrastructure that supports them. As we have seen, there are more and more devices that have the ability to connect to the internet, while the infrastructure is somewhat more complex, although telecommunications companies have done a lot of work in this regard, since they are already prepared to support the large number of devices that will be connected in the future.
In addition, they are now offering increasingly higher speeds, something that is also expected to significantly improve 5G, as well as adding low latency and reduced energy consumption. This will undoubtedly enable many other devices to be connected and the range of IoT applications to be expanded.
An example is worth a thousand words
The fact that the internet has evolved rapidly has made the IoT a reality. But, above all, it is the possible applications and possibilities that it can afford us, that have made this very popular and interesting to both manufacturers and the users themselves.
There are many applications today, but there is no doubt that they will be almost endless with the passage of time. These are some of the multiple applications in different sectors:
■ Home automation: There are already many people who have different devices that connect to the internet to facilitate certain tasks at home. One of the most widespread are devices that we can control with our own voice and to which we can request certain tasks related to other connected devices. That is why we must not forget about the security systems that allow us to connect from a mobile or notify us if someone enters our house, intelligent thermostats controlled from a mobile, lights that we can turn off, turn on or change colour with the voice or from the mobile, etc.
■ On a day-to-day basis: An alarm clock may be connected to our coffee maker and a few moments before the programmed alarm sounds it starts to prepare a coffee. Refrigerators could know the expiry date of food or the quantity of each product that we want to store in them. In this way, they could notify us of those things that are due to expire soon, or of things that we have to add to the shopping list because they are running low, for example.
■ In industry: IoT is already used in certain factories or production plants for different purposes or objectives. Such as having devices and certain sensors connected to make it possible to generate alarms or send messages alerting to any situation that requires action or that allows you to know that something is going wrong.
■ With livestock: In this sector, biometric monitoring and geolocation are two factors that are already helping farmers a lot and are sure to help them even more in the near future. The IoT or a series of connected devices that the animals carry themselves favour the work of farmers more and more.
■ Buildings: without any doubt, the use of IoT devices also allows you to control certain supplies such as light, heating or water. Something that allows buildings to be increasingly intelligent and can send certain information to determine if there is a breakdown before a human being realises it. In this area, companies can also take advantage of these capabilities to automate security tasks in buildings, and to be the first to find out about any unforeseen events in the building, etc.
■ Cities: The use of IoT makes our cities increasingly intelligent thanks to connected devices capable of controlling traffic much better, as well as its application in public services, such as transport, lighting, irrigation and waste systems, etc. As far as road safety is concerned, IoT and new technologies will allow cars to be connected and make decisions in real time and with some autonomy.
It is not all good news
As everyone already knows, being connected 24 hours a day exposes us to the multiple risks that exist on the internet. This is one of the main problems when applying IoT in certain areas, since certain companies could send certain important information through the network to be processed by certain devices and the fact that it could be captured or manipulated would create unwanted situations. Therefore, your security would be at great risk. In addition, in the case of health, people's privacy would also be exposed to all kinds of attacks.
In this sense, these are the main areas for improvement, ones that have been recently exploited in different areas of IoT:
■ Use of passwords: everyone knows that on many occasions passwords from different systems have been compromised through brute force attacks. Therefore, the use of passwords is a vulnerable aspect in the Internet of Things environment, if the necessary measures are not taken to prevent an attacker from obtaining them easily.
■ Network services: The use of unsecure network services is something that should be avoided, since they expose us to all internet risks. The fact that vulnerability detected in this type of service is exploited makes the integrity and security of the connected devices compromised, as well as the privacy of the data stored in them.
■ Apps, interfaces and components: Any tool external to IoT devices must be properly controlled and configured. If any interface, app, web or API is configured or does not offer the corresponding security, this means that the devices can be compromised and jeopardise the security of the IoT. In the same way, the use of outdated or obsolete software or hardware components also jeopardises the devices.
■ Storage and transfer of data: In this sense, when handling private or confidential data, it is necessary to keep an exhaustive control of it within the IoT environment. For this, the use of encryption algorithms to prevent access to this data from being accessible to anyone is recommended.