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Context:
- Today, the “Internet of Things” (IoT), the term coined by Peter T. Lewis in 1985, is threatening to take control of the planet.
Background:
- Interestingly, one of the first IoTs is perhaps what John Romkey created — a toaster that could be turned on and off over the Internet for the Interop conference (1989).
- During 2008, the number of “things” connected to the Internet surpassed the number of people on Earth.
- According to Cisco, 50 billion connected “things” will be used globally in 2020.
- It is predicted “that the worldwide IoT market will grow to $7.1 trillion by 2020, compared to $1.9 trillion in 2013. By 2020, it’s estimated that 90% of cars will be connected to the Internet, compared to 10% in 2012”.
Threats IoT poses:
- But, we must keep in mind that the IoT would generate loads of data posing a serious security and privacy threat.
- Hackers may exploit such weak spots.
Measures to be taken:
- Software must be designed accordingly and remote devices locked down as well.
- We need to be alert while interacting with the new ecosystem of appliances.
- The users of the IoT also have to be ‘smart’, keeping security concerns in mind.
