The Internet of Things: Safety first?

The supermarket shelves send adverts to your mobile phone, the car starts the heating at home and the fridge reports that there is a shortage of milk: practical help in life, but what actually happens to this information? What data is collected, who has access to it and how is it used? The issue of data protection and the misuse of Internet of Things technologies is increasingly coming to the fore in the IT sector.

All-round communication thanks to the Internet of Things can simplify and automate many things. However, the infrastructure of communication modules, sensors, actuators and data processing instances not only ensures that objects communicate imperceptibly with each other, but also produces and processes a considerable amount of data: Geolocation, temperature, air pressure, lighting conditions, the presence or absence of people, their identity, changes in the environment and much, much more. We are no longer just talking about big data, but now also about bigger and mega data. With this new dimension of data volumes, the question of data organisation, data integrity and data protection is increasingly coming to the fore - for IT companies and users alike.

A good example of the benefits of the Internet of Things (IoT) is the area of ambient assisted living. These are application systems that make everyday life easier for people in need of support. These are useful and helpful as long as personal data does not fall into the wrong hands. This is because networking and analysing various measurement and personal data in this way also increasingly enables users to be profiled. There is a particular threat of data misuse here: Gartner (Predicts 2016: Unexpected Implications Arising From the Internet of Things) expects a black market of five billion euros by 2020 for counterfeit sensors and video data used for criminal activities. This in turn gives rise to a new market: IoT security. However, according to Forrester Research, only 37% of decision-makers are concerned about IT security. That should change! Because those who address the security and risk of IoT applications at an early stage and constantly scrutinise them can profit productively from this technology megatrend in the long term.