Internet. Internet Everywhere
Las Vegas recently hosted the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the now-annual trade show organised by the Consumer Technology Association. It provides the opportunity for companies to showcase new products and technologies on an international stage. For the past few years an increasing trend has seen the Internet arriving into a host of ‘dumb’ devices, whether or not you knew you needed it. My favourite new smart product from this year’s CES comes from Nokia-owned Withings, who have produced the Hair Coach (http://www.withings.com/us/en/products/hair-coach). This promises you “a holistic hair assessment”, ensuring you receive “a complete hair diagnosis without leaving home”.
Now, I’m quite a fan of ‘smart’ products. I own a smartwatch, a smartphone, and have even considered getting involved with Google’s Nest products (I’ve just got to convince my wife that they’re worth the investment). I am, however, slightly concerned at just how many Internet-enabled items can be bought these days. I mean, a smart air fresheners (https://www.febrezehome.com/) and WiFi enabled pet bowls (https://obedog.com/products/probowl-smart-bowl-for-dogs-and-cats) might sound all well and good but aren’t we going a little too far with things now? Well according to LG the answer is a resounding no. Amongst a host of announcements at CES they also confirmed that from now on all of their premium appliances will come with built in WiFi.
But amongst the fanfare of the new Internet-enabled device launches, cautionary tales are beginning to seep through. October’s mass DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack on Dyn reportedly used hacked Internet of Things (IoT) devices to overwhelm its servers, leading to website crashes for Twitter, Spotify, and Reddit. Central Government wasn’t spared either, with the attack causing intermittent outages of the GOV.UK website. In a less high-impact but perhaps more terrifying (at least for the victim) example, a lack of password protection combined with a somewhat cruel prank caused a user to dispose of his new wireless printer.
So what are the benefits to all these new IoT devices? Ostensibly they’re designed to improve users’ lives, automating processes to save time, effort, and money. In the case of Nest it collects data over time to learn about you and your home, working out how long it takes to warm up and when you typically need the heating on. But do you really want Google harvesting data on your daily habits? For instance, if someone gains access to this information then they’ll instantly be able to tell at what times of the day your house is normally empty.
To combat this TechUK recently launched its Trust Principles in an Internet of Things (IoT) World, a set of high level principles to build trust in IoT innovations. These principles are designed to highlight key responsibilities around Data Transparency, Interoperability and Protection against cyber attack. Ultimately they’ve been designed to ensure that IoT devices are built in a secure and trustworthy manner:
“Trust is the oxygen which will breathe life into the internet of things. Industry needs to show data is safe and that it is properly treated. Otherwise we endanger the potential of the IoT. techUK is right to focus on this.” Stephen Pattison, VP Public Affairs, ARM, techUK IoT Council Chair
Whilst I’m not convinced that IoT devices are in danger of disappearing any time soon, this document surely heralds a drive to ensure companies consider every aspect of the devices they design. I can’t see it being too much longer before we see new Data Protection laws coming into force to address the rise of IoT either. This is sure to go a long way towards addressing some of the key concerns currently being voiced around IoT devices, as well as providing more accountability around any potential loss of data.
Ultimately, I view the rise of the Internet-enabled device as a positive sign. Sure, there are teething problems but as these are addressed and the security of devices is beefed up I look forward to arriving home and being greeted by my own personal Jarvis. Now if only they can hurry up and work out a more elegant solution for updates…
John, A very interesting article, and I do think you are right that the improvement of Data Security Laws, and the development of security for individual items will help shape the future particularly for larger and more powerful devices, however I think the other large driving force will be the Marketplace (I know - suggesting that capitalism might actually work ...). The reason I suggest this is that some Smart Devices (such as the smart phone) take off and become the norm. Other devices are in effect novelty items with a limited audience (such as the smart air freshener or pet bowl), and once those people who might be interested in them have bought them once, maybe twice, the demand will die and so will the device. So whilst I agree the Internet of things, and the rise of Internet enabled devices is on the rise, and here to stay - and this is a good thing (particularly in my world of Information Management, and the rise of Intelligent Data); it will be the market force that will balance itself which will then be tightened and tidied by legislation and improvement of security.