Dissertation Proposal on the Internet of Things Issue

This project essay is aimed at portraying the manner in which the Internet of Things has enabled integration and interconnection in cyber space and the physical world. The future networking trend including the third wave with regards to the revolution in IT industry; will all be highlighted. In the essay, related IoT technologies are discussed including their concepts. Also, the key scientific significance of the technologies is also discussed. Lastly, future research directions on the same is discussed.

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Literature Review

Both excited consumers and industrial experts have attached the issue of Internet of Things with the present and future revolution in the industrial sector and also an aspect of the next Internet. Such insinuations are because the IoT is termed as the present and future manner in which businesses, consumers, and governments interact globally (Greenough and Camhi, 2016). For over two years now, the BI Intelligence and the Business Insider research firms have monitored the rate at which global issues in IoT have let to its growth. Specifically, the research facilities have analyzed the manner in which ecosystem of the IoT allows the connection of entities like consumers, governments, and businesses to the research facilities' IoT devices within the open sixteen environments including the manufacturing environment, transportation, the connected home, and agriculture sector (iHLS Desk, 2017).

In our society today, as the research results quote, security breaches with regards to Internet of Things have caused a lot of public concerns. Regardless of one not getting personally affected by the effect of the same, ones connected phone has the potential of helping potential criminals, as much as IoT is concerned. Such an occasion can be traced to the time when Dyn, an Internet service provider got attacked, and access to some of the popular websites got disrupted. According to what was alleged, the cybercriminals took control of several devices that were internet-connected for the purpose of serving as their helpers. Such an incident led to an expert in cyber security advising governments to ensure that the IoT is regulated. The situation resulted in the conclusion that IoT manufacturers and customers care less about the level of security of approximately 8.4 billion devices that are internet-connected and currently in use (iHLS Desk, 2017). On the contrary, IoT has created an immediate impact on the society today. Some of the technologies associated with IoT security include:

Network security:

The technology is obligated with securing and protecting the system allocated for IoT devices connection to back-end systems within the internet. However, the IoT network security is complex and more challenging compared to the traditional network security. The complexity is caused by a broader range of protocols for communication, device capabilities, and standards. On the contrary, the fundamental capabilities of the technology include traditional security endpoint features like antimalware and antivirus (iHLS Desk, 2017).

Authentication:

Provider of authentication of IoT device as well as being able to manage several users of a given device. The authentication includes the provision of a static password and other sophisticated methods like robust mechanisms for authentication like digital certificates, two-factor authentication and biometrics. Most of the scenarios of IoT authentication are based on machine-to-machine technologies without forms of human intervention (iHLS Desk, 2017).

Encryption:

The technology of this kind entails data encryption either at rest or while in transit. Encryption is done between back-end systems and edge devices through the use of standard cryptographic algorithms that are crucial for the maintenance of data integrity and data prevention from getting sniffed by hackers. Also, there is a wide IoT devices range of which the hardware profiles of such devices possess with standard encryption protocols and processes. However, IoT encryptions need to get accompanied by full management processes of encryption key lifecycle (iHLS Desk, 2017).

PKI:

The technology also ensures the provision of an X.509 digital certicate. Other provided things include:

A cryptographic key

Life-cycle capabilities (such as distribution, public or private key generation, revocation, and management)

The specification of the hardware of given IoT devices may prevent or limit the devices' ability to utilize the PKI. The Digital certicates have the characteristics of being able to be loaded onto IoT devices securely during the time of manufacture after which they get activated by third-party software suites of the PKI (iHLS Desk, 2017).

Security analytics:

Security analytics are all about aggregating, normalizing data, and monitoring the same from the IoT devices then giving reports and alerts (that are actionable) in case the activities do not conform to the established policies. Such solutions are important in ensuring that important aspects of the machine like learning, big data techniques, and articial intelligence provide predictive aspects of modeling. The security analytics are important and thus will be required to detect intrusions or attacks which would otherwise not be detected by security solutions of the traditional network security (iHLS Desk, 2017).

API security:

API Security provides authentication and authorization of data movement likely to occur between the IoT devices, applications that apply REST-based APIs, and back-end systems. This type of security is required for protecting data integrity particularly for the data flowing between back-end systems and edge devices. The process ensures that only devices that are authorized, apps, and developers have the freedom of communicating with APIs (iHLS Desk, 2017).

The Internet of Things Ecosystem

Source: Here are IoT trends that will change the way businesses, governments, and consumers interact with the world; Business Insider [online].

The components of the ecosystem of IoT include:

Devices

Analytics

Networks

Security

The ecosystem also happens to be forecasting the IoTs emerging market which is made up of the megatrends, amount invested, device growth, and return investment potential. The research activities assert that:

By 2020, more than 34 billion devices have been projected to be connected to the internet. The number will be massive compared to 2015s 10 billion connected devices. Also, the IoT devices are estimated to be 24 billion whereas the traditional devices for computing will stand at 10 billion (Greenough and Camhi, 2016).

Approximately $6 trillion will have to be spent on IoT solutions within the next five years. However, corporations will exceed other sectors in the adoption of the IoT solutions. Such is because businesses recognize three methods in which IoT would be able to improve their bottom line. The methods are:

Lowering costs of operation

Increasing productivity

Developing and expanding new markets and product offerings (Greenough and Camhi, 2016).

It is, therefore, worth noting that governments are currently aligned to productivity increase, costs decrease and improving the lives of the citizens. Therefore, it is appropriate to insinuate that may be the second-largest IoT ecosystems adopters (Greenough and Camhi, 2016). In the adoption, consumers will be nowhere close to governments and businesses. However, consumers are forecasted to be at the forefront of purchasing several devices and also make significant investments in IoT ecosystems. The future therefore will:

Integrate the current complexities in technology into a single ecosystem

Give clear explanations (through action) of the shortcomings and benefits of several networks; mesh included.

Discusses analytics systems

Examine the practices of IoT security

Give details concerning the four drivers of the IoT market plus its barriers

Provide six layered forecasts of the IoT investment

Reference

iHLS Desk (2017). Current IoT Security Industry Trends - iHLS. [online] iHLS. Available at: http://i-hls.com/archives/75718 [Accessed 22 May 2017].

Greenough, J. and Camhi, J. (2016). Here are IoT trends that will change the way businesses, governments, and consumers interact with the world. [online] Business Insider. Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/top-internet-of-things-trends-2016-1?IR=T [Accessed 22 May 2017].