How the Internet of Things affect security and privacy

The Internet of Things is headed for a global domination at a never before pace. We’re headed for a world that will have 24 billion IoT devices by 2020. But, they will come at the price of privacy and security concerns as well.

The growth will see major changes in our daily activities in the future. Reduction in overall energy consumption, smart cars, connected healthcare devices are some of the key benefits of IoT.

The connected devices give way to increased security concerns. As per the  2015 Icontrol State of the Smart Home study, 44% of all Americans were “very concerned” about the possibility of their information getting stolen from their smart home, and 27% were “somewhat concerned.”

The researchers have been able to hack into the real, on-the-market devices with enough time and energy. This means that the hackers will be able to do it easily. The Samsung’s SmartThings smart home platform was found to have a plethora of holes by a team of researchers at Microsoft and the University of Michigan.

Another privacy concern for the IoT is the humongous amount of data it generates. “Internet of Things: Privacy & Security in a Connected World”, a Federal Trade Commission report, found that fewer than 10,000 households can generate 150 million discrete data points every day. More the data, more the entry points for hackers.

The connected devices also put the consumers at a risk of getting unwanted public profiles created. An insurance company might gather information from you about your driving habits through a connected car when calculating your insurance rate. Similarly, health or life insurance can gather data thanks to fitness trackers.

Apart from this, there are other issues like eavesdropping and consumer confidence. But still, with all the drawbacks, IoT is moving no holds barred.