Components of IoT
Question:
Discuss about the Privacy And Security Issues In Iot.
Technological advancement is changing the lifestyle of the users; however significant change started after the introduction of the IoT (Internet of Things) which changed the internet from virtual assistant to real-world assistance (Xu et al, 2014). It has emerged as one of the massively adopted technology in the era, though with an increase in the size of the users the threats posed by cyber-malefactors have also witnessed a significant surge. Hence, it is essential for the people who crave to associate themselves with the subject or are already associated with the technology to understand the security and privacy threats that will be associated with the technology. The devised paper will offer assistance in understanding the technology followed by the factors that are relevant to the technology. The paper will even review, the literary work of the past over the subject before identifying the challenges and the area that still needs to be researched on to ensure IoT security before summarising and concluding the paper.
The subject of the paper is a network that consists of physical devices, home appliances, vehicles and other electronic devices that are embedded with the software, connectivity, sensors, actuators and electronics that enables the sharing of data (Tao et al., 2014). The equipment that is in the IoT network is assigned a unique code for identification. The sensors associated with the IoT equipment senses the change and informs the server for further action. The server evaluates the input and responds to the input according to the pre-instructed instructions or manual response form the end-user (Sadeghi, Wachsmann & Waidner, 2015). Then, an output signal is passed down to the sensors which activate the actuator for further action. All the above-described process takes place in a real-time and enables automation of IoT components.
Multiple components are associated in the IoT that assists the technology in achieving its deemed objective. However, the core components of the subject can be classified under the category RFID, WSN and data analytics & storage
The section above has been concluded by stating the core components of the IoT, and they have been elaborated in the discussed section.
RFID:
RFID is the technology that enables the design of the microchips to pursue the objective of data communication wirelessly. The deemed technology equips two-way service to transmit and receive radio while identifying and tracking the tags that are associated with the object Kumar & Patel, 2014). The technology equips embedded communication paradigm to attain the objective mentioned above. The deemed technology acts as an electronic barcode to assist in automated identification of the radio frequency. The passive RFID use the interrogation signal of the reader for communicating the ID to RFID readers. The application of passive RFID has multiple applications in the ‘retail & supply chain management’ such as registration stickers, ticket replacement in transportation while access controlling of the applications is an additional significant for the system. On the contrary, the active RFID owns their power supply which they use for the communication purpose. Additionally, another notable technology is the NFC abbreviation for near-field communication consists of communicative protocols for the electronic devices that are typically installed on a smart device (Lazarescu, 2013).
RFID Technology
Abbreviated form of the Wireless sensor network is a low powered miniature device been that assists in remote sensing. Wireless communication integrated with low powered integrated circuits have improved the viability of an individual sensor that is a part of a smart sensors network (Lazarescu, 2013). The integration has enhanced the process of data collection, analysis, processing and the dissemination of valuable data collected through a variety of surrounding. The below-mentioned technologies combine to make the WSN monitoring network.
WSN hardware: It is a node that consists of a sensor interface, transceiver units, and the power supply along with the processing unit that holds the responsibility for the interaction of the system and the sensors to analog to digital conversion.
WSN communication stack: To maintain a scalable and longevity network it is necessary to design an adequate routing, MAC layer and topology plans. It is done to attain a suitable path for the communication between the nodes of a WSN (Jia et al., 2012). The deemed measure is achieved by adding a communication stack at the sink node to enable the interaction with the outside world by means of internet and in the process act as a gateway for the internet and the WSN subnet.
Middleware: Middleware is the process of combining cyber-infrastructure with the sensor network and service-oriented architecture to offer access to the heterogeneous sensor networking in a ‘deployment enable manner’.
Secure data aggregation: The data collected from the sensors are useless if they do not offer reliability while ensuring the security of the network (He, Yan & Da Xu, 2014). To attain the deemed objective, secure data aggregation can be adopted. It also offers the self-healing of the nodes in the WSN network topology because the nodes are vulnerable to defects in the WSN network. Another significant role played by it is the linking of the system to the actuators, and in the process, the system is kept protected from trespassers.
The data analytics and storage is one of the most crucial parts of the IoT because of the real-time data collected from the sensors and taken into consideration to reach a conclusive decision. Hence, it is mandatory to equip suitable tools and techniques to attain the most suitable result. The IoT commonly adopts state-of-the-art, temporal machine learning (non-linear) based algorithm to attain the desired result.
IoT offers some significant advantage to the users and the society as well; however, like any other technology, it is also not free from flaws. The talked-about flaws are related to the security and other relevant challenges. The following section discusses the challenges that the IoT offers and that act as an obstacle to ensuring the maximum positive use of the technology. The challenges have been categorised into five categories namely; security, privacy, regulation, development and standards which have been discussed as follows:
Security:
One of the most significant components of the IoT is the internet, and it is well-known that the latter does offer some significant challenges to the users, and hence it is a matter of concern for the former. Additionally, an enormous number of devices are connected with the subject of the paper which makes it more vulnerable to security exploitation (Gubbi et al., 2013). The security threat in the deemed scenario is more crucial because the subject connects all the basic needs of the human so if a cyber-attack cause malfunctioning of any medical devices that prove life-threatening. Another notable fact is that IoT consists of homogeneous devices so, understanding the procedure to hack a single device can pave the way for manipulation of other devices amplifying the threat. Hence, it is advisable to have a security management procedure to avoid any severe or catastrophic event from originating.
Wireless Sensor Network
Privacy:
Another notable threat that IoT offers is the threat of privacy violation. The most significant factor for the discussed threat is the integration of the data with the environment of an individual. The process of integrating personal data which also includes voice recognition, figure print and another authentication method to the vehicles and other devices also offers privacy threat. The reason for the above-stated statement lays on the fact that IoT involves the third party who has authentication available to the users’ data and there is a possibility that they can use it for personal agenda and in the process exploiting the privacy of the users (Doukas & Maglogiannis, 2012). Additionally, the above-discussed section offered an idea over the security challenges faced by the IoT which also makes it vulnerable to cyber-attacks and can act as a threat to the individual’s privacy. So, understanding the significance of the privacy threat, plans should be developed to adopt tools and techniques that can protect the privacy of users.
Regulation:
IoT also offers a significant challenge to the legal implications. The legal challenges that the IoT offers are relevant to the cross-border flow of data, the conflict between the civil rights & the law enforcement surveillance, destruction policies & data retention and security breaches along with the privacy lapses & liability for the unintended usage. Additionally, it should also be noted that the technology is growing at a much rapid speed than the policies or regulatory environment that are associated with the technology and its usage (Chen et al., 2014). Hence, it is advisable that the technological regulatory should change their way of viewing the technological advancement and start taking consideration of the technology consumers’ welfare into account and plan accordingly. The technology regulator bodies should also evolve them with the technological advancement to avoid deceptive measures that are associated with the technology and have fair use of the technology for the welfare of the human and the society collectively.
Development:
IoT and the advantages offered by it is evident, and hence, it has become one of the most desired technology globally. The developed countries have policies and infrastructure to adopt the deemed technology. The developing country is developing their infrastructure and adopting IoT at the same instance. However, the third-world countries or the under-developed countries are also adopting the technology to stabilise their position globally without developing an appropriate structure which can prove to be of high threat to them (Bellavista et al., 2013). Adopting of the technology without proper infrastructure makes them vulnerable to the security and privacy threats. Additionally, the chances of failure of the technology are also very prominent because they lack required skill and expertise to make full potential use of the discussed technology. Due to lack of infrastructure, the implementation of the IoT can also prove to be costly and non-efficient for such countries. Hence, it is advisable that, before developing the IoT plans, the countries should develop infrastructure to make a successful deployment of the technology and enjoy its full capacity.
Data Analytics and Storage
Standards:
One of the best-known facts is that to use anything to its full potential, one should have a standard for it. The case is also valid for the discussed technology. If the developers develop the technology without proper standard than, the design can come out to be faulty and could have a negative impact on the user and the environment. The case is same for the users, if they use the technology without a proper standard, they may cite significant damage to themselves and the society as well. However, the primary challenge is that the IoT technology is disruptive and changing in nature making it difficult to have a generalised standard (Amendola et al., 2014). Hence, it is advisable that the before permitting for IoT’s implementation, a local standard should be set for it.
Multiple articles and research journals have been published on the IoT that have pursued different aspects of the subject from the advantage to the threats. The challenges in implementation and impact post-implementation have also been discussed. The roles that IoT can play and are playing in different sectors from education to mining has also been considered for the research work, and the findings from them are significantly viable (Kelly, Suryadevara & Mukhopadhya, 2013). The potential solutions through tools and techniques for the identified problems have also been researched over. Enhancement of the deemed technology by disruptive tools and technologies are also discussed. However, one sector which is still left unevaluated is the physical security of the IoT. On the evaluation of the literary work assessed in the past over the subject, it was evident that none or very few of the scholars have taken account of the physical security of the subject.
Physical security is one of the most crucial factors of the IoT, the reason for stating the fact mentioned above is that IoT consists of not only the internet or software but also consists of hardware parts which can be damaged too by physical pressure. The physical devices include the smart sensors, actuators and other similar devices. No plan or tools where identified that takes account of the physical security of the wall. However, it is a vast domain of great significance. The sensors, actuators, alarms and similar other physical devices can be manipulated to send error data which in turn can result in faulty operation or specific catastrophic scenario. Hence, it is advisable that physical security be as vital as the cyber or any other form of security for the IoT. Hence, the identified literature gap is “evaluation of the physical security of the IoT”. The research work can also be pursued over the potential measures that can be of great assistance in minimising the physical security of the IoT and its application. Researchers can also develop models, techniques and theories for the implementation of the strategies that can protect the IoT physically.
Conclusion:
IoT is one of the most successful technologies in the recent time which has offered significant benefit to its users. However, certain challenges are associated with the discussed technology and must be omitted to enjoy the full potential of the subject. The paper has discussed the challenges offered by the IoT and has also offered suggestions for future research in the discussed area. The literary gap that was evaluated in the deemed process was that no or minimum, research work had taken account of the physical security of the IoT and its components which are of crucial vitality in the success and security of the IoT. Hence, the paper can be emphasised to state that IoT is a popular technology. However, it should only be adopted after addressing the challenges and with appropriate care.
Challenges of IoT
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