Although there are certainly benefits to the ever-growing evolution of the Internet-of-Things (IoT), the challenges it also brings should not be viewed as an understatement.
Although there are certainly benefits to the ever-growing evolution of the Internet-of-Things (IoT), the challenges it also brings should not be viewed as an understatement. According to previous reports, the number of mobile devices already surpassed the population on Earth, and with the growing market for connected goods, the figure is expected to expand exponentially in the next few years.
While security systems are largely believed to be leading the sector, sensors are actually the brains of the IoT revolution, as without the latter, devices would not be able to communicate with each other, let alone detect any motion, or read and collect data from surrounding environments. As technologies continue to evolve, there is no doubt that sensors will do more than just “sense” motion in the near future. The next wave of home security products will be able to detect potential burglaries with the use of video analytics, and as such.
But as rosy as it may sound, the giant leap to mass adoption cannot be achieved if interoperability and the hodgepodge of protocols continue to pose an obstacle for the smart home. In other words, its success will be predicated on how effectively it can communicate with other controls in a home.
Security systems also nurtures cybercrime
As mentioned, the issue with security has been a topic of concern since the prevalence of smart cameras and remote apps used in home automation. To date, there are more and more instances where hackers have succeeded in infiltrating and acquiring personal data to remotely access your garage doors, smart locks, and as such. But while manufacturers continue to churn out devices for the burgeoning smart home market, they often overlook the efforts to prevent data leak by not reinforcing their embedded software. According to security researchers at the University of Michigan, they successfully uncovered several design flaws last week whereby hackers could easily hack into your home system without breaking a sweat.
The university revealed that the security flaw is derived from the system's alleged complacency to malicious apps that take control of the SmartThings app, thus allowing access to these devices by forcibly injecting a PIN code via a system backdoor.
In short, the main problem when dealing with IoT devices is that manufacturers don't have strong backgrounds in cyber security, let alone design smart objects that can tackle a wide range of features to handle different scenarios.
In a nutshell, while there are those that believe interoperability and standardization will help propel smart devices to mass adoption, the lack of security with regard to cybercrime will also play a huge part in its role to hamper potential growth.