Disucuss about the Internet of things.
Information technology is always transforming into something new every day, constantly improving the methods of communication. The internet is the centerpiece of this technology having the ability to connect billions of people worldwide notwithstanding the countless devices. Today, through this medium communication occurs in two major forms human to human and human to device. However, the Internet of Things (IoT), an advancement of the internet will facilitate machine to machine (M2M) communication. Although it will introduce a new paradigm in the digital world, its functional elements will depend on the existing technological infrastructure. As such, IOT will represent a global interconnection system of devices that will use the standard TCP/IP protocol to automate machine interaction. At its helm, it will be a network of networks having billions of private and public connections across the globe. To better understand this technology, this paper analyses IoT from a research perspective, detailing its characteristics, applications and security concerns.
Background
As a concept, IoT dates back to 1982 when a modified coke machine was used to report its functions after it was connected to the internet. This machine was able to highlight the drinks it had including their respective temperatures. Later on, in the 90s, scholars such as Mark Weiser and Bill Joy gave the blueprint of the idea having the general elements of device to device communication through ubiquitous networks. This structure is now seen today where the defining components of IoT are in high abundance from smart devices to autonomous communication systems [1]. In all, the basic idea is to have an autonomous exchange of information by unique and identifiable devices across the world.
These devices would meet this objective through leading technologies such as Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). Essentially, each object is fitted with a sensor device that serves the role of identification. From this rudimentary state, objects then interact with one another continuously exchanging data for decision making without any form of human intervention [2]. Therefore, with the current levels of advanced computing, the connectivity of low sensing devices are being introduced into the world, an act that is serving as the first phase of the IoT concept. Furthermore, with the existing system analytics that uses data access and data exchange the applications of IoT are already in place, an outcome that sees over half of the internet connections done between things. As such, IoT is not a future technology but an existing technological paradigm that is rapidly connecting devices across the world.
Characteristics
A global sensing and activation function is needed in all devices, systems, and facilities to instigate IoT. In fact, to integrate all the various systems of the world having different domains, a new platform with more power and storage is needed. In comparison to the conventional (traditional) approach, this network should have a better battery capacity while being of low cost and size. Now, the cost variable facilitates all the areas of life such as the medicine and the transportation industry providing consistent operations [3]. On the other hand, the size is important as the sensors should be invisible to the naked eye, both for convenience and security purposes. As such, IoT has the following characteristics:
Comprehensive perception: Two elements will determine the implementation of perception; identification and recognition. Sensors, RFID tags, and two-dimensional barcode devices can be used for these roles as they have the ability to collect objects’ information at any given time or place. Through these devices, communication and information systems are invisibly integrated into the environment while sensory networks allow people to interact with the virtual world [4].
Reliable communication and transmission: Using a variety of networks, object information is transmitted across the digital world. Radio networks, telecommunication systems, and the internet can serve this role having a number of both wired and wireless communication technologies. Furthermore, switching and gateway technologies are then used to manage the flow of information to ensure it ends up in the right locations.
Intelligent data processing: Information is the most important item in IoT operations, a fact that necessitates the use of various intelligent computing technologies to analyze data. Cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and system analytics can be used to support IoT applications. As such, the intelligent technologies used to process data are the promoters of IoT [4].
Areas of Application
IoT promises to extend the conveniences of information technology into the real world. Unlike before, the benefits of data analytics, unified communication, and smart systems among other will not be confined to digital devices but extended to the users themselves. As such, IoT will have many applications in the world such as smart cities/homes, health, energy and environments among many others.
Smart Cities/homes: As an extension of the existing home network, IoT will automate all the objects found in homesteads from televisions sets to physical doors. Essentially, wireless networks through the Internet Protocol (IP) will facilitate the exchange of information among devices while WSN will integrate them into a holistic structure. From this environment, multiple homes will extend their IoT functionalities to wider areas to include cities, having the ability to automate technological functions.
Smart Energy: Information and control can be integrated into the energy industry to have a smart energy management system. By collaborating ICT with electricity networks the energy industry will be able to have a real-time and two-way communication facility for its services, which will create a dynamic interaction between suppliers and consumers thus deliver electricity in a more efficient way. Such a system will consist of smart gadgets e.g. meters that will automatically control and coordinate power functions [5].
Smart Health: Consider patients whose psychological status is to be monitored all the time. IoT monitoring services can manage this task by constantly collecting and analyzing psychological information. Furthermore, using the affiliated technologies of IoT such as cloud computing and business intelligence predictions of patients’ outcome can be given thus provide better tools for diagnosis [5].
A lot of research has been done in the field of IoT in an attempt to increase its practicality. At the helm of this research has been its control and security which arise because of two major factors; one, because of its architecture that promotes an open system and two, because of the internet infrastructure that even today has its own security limitations. Therefore, even before it is fully implemented, IoT inherently has various security concerns that need addressing before a worldwide application.
Security of sensing devices: In its current state, IoT does not provide adequate security protection systems for its sensing objects. This limitation makes it vulnerable to attacks owing to its functions that include a variety of operations and energy requirements for the connecting nodes. Thus, the security of the WSN, RFID and M2M devices is affected as a variety of security problems can be instigated. In all, the following problems can be experienced; information leakage, tracking, tampering, cloning, node replication, and man-in-the-middle attacks etc. Therefore, from a security perceptive, the issues at hand can be categorized into three major parts. One, the secrecy and authentication of physical devices which guarantees the authorized systems are used. Two, the service integrity where data collected meets all the security requirements. Three, resource availability where items such as network and data are made readily available to the users [6].
Security issues in the physical layer: After the sensing devices, the IoT model enters the physical layer where the functions of modulation, encryption, transmission and data reception are done. It is at this layer that the generation of the carrier frequencies is done which outlines serious security concern if it is affected. Primarily, two security issues are highlighted; node tampering and jamming. Denial of Service (DoS) attacks represents the biggest threat as they occupy the communication channels thus preventing information exchange. This attack exploits the transmission of radio waves where it introduces a lot of noise which affects the transfer of legitimate data. On the other hand, node tampering extracts data from radio waves by snooping on the transmitted information.
Security concern of the network layer: IoT is affiliated with many devices which have a variety of data formats. This data is also collected from various massive sources that have different and heterogeneous characteristics. Therefore, by default, the IoT model faces the concerns of illegal access, data confidentiality, and integrity. These limitations occur because of the access given to multiple objects which on occasion can eavesdrop on sensitive data if inferior security protocols are used. Furthermore, malware or virus attacks can be used at this stage to compromise the security measures put in place. At the same time, the large number of communication nodes can also lead to network congestion which in the end results in DoS attacks [7].
Comprehensive and dynamic solutions are needed for the security issues identified above. The countermeasures highlighted must, therefore, account for technology’s characteristics, both in its current and future forms.
Certification and secure access protocols: Certification is a secure method of confirming the true identities of the people involved in a communication process. Similarly, the same technique can be used to verify the access devices be it an RFID tag or WSN device so that authentic equipment is used in the IoT infrastructure. Tools such as the Public Key Infrastructure can be used to provide a strong authentication mechanism for identifying objects. Moreover, certification authorities (notarization) can serve as another solution for verifying the communication nodes through a trusted third party member. Finally, secure routing protocols designed for the sensing devices can be introduced to mitigate the problems of data leakage and tampering [7].
Access control: The second security issue identified above compromises the physical layer by gaining unauthorized access to transmission equipment and data. By applying a comprehensive access control system, this limitation is avoided. Basically, all devices, machines, and people should be uniquely identified to develop an access policy. This policy would then base its functions on authorization levels such as location and identity. Moreover, certification would be correlated with access control as identities are based on this solution. Therefore, access to any resource on the IoT infrastructure would be based on confidential passwords and exclusive rights. As such, a secure key agreement scheme would be used to restrict access across the physical layer, a tool that would mitigate the attacks on the transmission of information [8].
Data Encryption: Data confidentiality and integrity are the main concerns in the third security problem. Therefore, the countermeasure used should base its solution on data as it is the main item in question. Now, encryption protects information from tampering which can occur in various forms such as editing, deleting and interception. When an attacker intercepts data, encryption ensures they are unable to decipher it. Two general techniques are available for this solution: Hop by Hop Encryption and End to End Encryption. The first technique provides security across all the nodes used by the IoT model by giving a ciphertext for each stage. On the other hand, the second technique performs both the functions of encryption and encryption at the sender-receiver end sections. In all, through encryption attacks affecting data such as tampering, replay, and fabrication, can be avoided [8].
Conclusion
IoT represents the next evolution of the internet which throughout the years has propelled the advances in information technology. Through IoT, the efficiencies of IT are transferred into the real world having integrated physical objects into the digital environment. Now, although this process will have many benefits to the users, it will also introduce several security problems. These problems, like in any other technology will require comprehensive solutions geared towards the architectures of IoT. Nevertheless, despite these drawbacks, IoT is set for a bright future having implemented its foundational elements of the existing digital platform.
References
M. Farooq, M. Waseem, S. Mazhar, A. Khairi and T. Kamal, “A Review on Internet of Things (IoT),” International Journal of Computer Applications, vol. 113, no. 1, pp. 1-6, 2015. Available: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273693976_A_Review_on_Internet_of_Things_IoT [Accessed 23 May 2018]
K. Desai and S. Mahalakshmi, “Internet of Things (IoT): A Review of Literature,” International Research Journal of Management and Commerce, vol. 5, no. 2, 2018. Available: https://www.aarf.asia/download.php?filename=../current/2018/Mar/xaUaIOvGVU0La5L.pdf&new=. [Accessed 23 May 2018]
E. Alsaadi and A. Tubaishat, “Internet of Things: Features, Challenges, and Vulnerabilities,” International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Information Technology, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 2-11, 2015. Available: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ab0a/90ddd8208234e7335b1cc175b49461c2bae5.pdf [Accessed 23 May 2018
S. Rajguru, S. Kinhekar and S. Pati, “Analysis of Internet of Things in a Smart Environment,” International Journal of Enhanced Research in Management & Computer Applications, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 40-43, 2015. Available: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/35fe/c9f1837928c482ed3ad344fa639736bd2506.pdf [Accessed 23 May 2018]
Z. Mohammed and E. Ahmed, “Internet of Things Applications, Challenges and Related Future Technologies,” World Scientific News, vol. 67, no. 2, pp. 126-148, 2017. Available: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elmustafa_Sayed_Ali_Ahmed/publication/313651150_Internet_of_Things_Applications_Challenges_and_Related_Future_Technologies/links/58a6e9b64585150402f27785/Internet-of-Things-Applications-Challenges-and-Related-Future. [Accessed 23 May 2018]
C. Suchitra and C. Vandana, “Internet of Things and Security Issues,” International Journal of Computer Science and Mobile Computing, vol. 5, no. 1, p. 133 – 139, 2016. Available: https://www.ijcsmc.com/docs/papers/January2016/V5I1201636.pdf [Accessed 23 May 2018
M. Bhabad and S. Bagade, “Internet of Things: Architecture, Security Issues and Countermeasures,” International Journal of Computer Applications, vol. 125, no. 14, pp. 1-4, 2015. Available: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/94bb/0b62588808fd2614c572162fa170cce06856.pdf [Accessed 23 May 2018
X. Liu, M. Zhao, S. Li, F. Zhang and W. Trappe, “A Security Framework for the Internet of Things in the Future Internet Architecture,” Future Internet, MDPI Journals, , pp. 1-25, 2017. Available: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/9/3/27/pdf [Accessed 23 May 2018
L. Goeke, “Security Challenges of the Internet of Things,” Bachelor’s Thesis Business Information Technology, 2017. Available: https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/128420/Goeke_Lisa.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y [Accessed 23 May 2018
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