The technology of IoT is taking the world by storm and starting to affect everything, from the way we do business to how we live our daily lives. The ability of our various devices to connect and communicate with each other opens up a world of possibility that makes us excited for the future.
However, not many IoT end users are aware of the trust concerns involving IoT. It is worrying, as there are many of them, most stemming from the technology’s inherent characteristics. Here are some of the most prominent IoT trust concerns:
Scalability
One of the attributes of IoT that users tend to love is the fact that IoT devices, as well as the services that connect them, are usually affordable. Since their popularity and widespread use make it more probable that functionality bloat will strike when the number of devices grows enough, that it poses a severe trust concern. When there are so many different devices, it can become a problem to test their performance and security in a consistent way that’s the same for everyone.
Testing
IoT is far from a conventional system, which is what causes a lot of its security issues. Since there are so many variables in the way the IoT ecosystem works, it’s not surprising that we encounter testing difficulty. Running a large number of tests to account for a small percentage of inter-dependencies within a system is impractical and inefficient. It is why we need to seek alternative solutions to this problem. In addition to that, there are testing concerns related to devices that don’t offer transparency of their internal processes.
Measurement
What are the metrics and measures of IoT with which the technology’s adopters and integrators would be able to determine that an IoT system can be trusted? Currently, there aren’t any. It might be one of IoT trust concerns that runs the deepest, as there is no way to measure our progress in keeping IoT secure without these metrics.
Synchronization
Data transfers in connected IoT devices can happen simultaneously, along with other events and computations. It makes IoT convenient to use, but it also leaves it prone to different timing anomalies, and some of them can be turned into vulnerabilities and exploited by cybercriminals.
Lack of Certification Criteria
Certifying an IoT device is no small feat, both financially and logistically. Since there are currently various criteria in use, it contributes to the overall impression that IoT could be regulated better. Also, there’s room for improvement in the price department when it comes to certification, as well. With a less expensive certification process, more IoT device developers would be opting for acquiring the necessary certification.
As a relatively new technology, IoT is still largely unregulated and without a stable, single solution to its security issues. However, identifying the trust concerns that stem from those issues is the first step in addressing them adequately. By implementing a more level industry standard when it comes to the security of IoT, we can begin to recover the trust that is lacking due to the complexity of the issue.