Internet of Things -2 (Security)
IoT devices have a variety of protocols to interact with each
other. These include bluetooth, X10, zigbee, insteon, Radio frequency
(RF), NFC, Infrared(IR) etc.
Traditionally to bridge the gap between internet and IoT, people came up with Gateway architecture. The devices talk to the gateway using proprietary protocols. The gateway then relays this information on the internet. I call this hammer and nail architecture to highlight the deficiency of the design. One always need both hammer and nail to get started. And since each manufacturer uses his own proprietary protocol and no manufacturer produces all the devices that you might need, one ended up with several gateway devices. And if the maufacturer goes bankrupt or stop producing/supporting those devices, the devices end up as garbage.
Additionally, one would like complete control over access to a device restricting usage only to authorized users. Security wasn't a major issue when you had only single device (a computer or a cell phone) which could be reformatted in worst case. But it takes a different dimension altogether when we are talking about every electronic/electrical device being connected on the network. While it's fascinating to see a device being controlled over internet, it also raises a red-flag about what if the control lands into wrong hands? The situation of helplessness is what a consumer dreads!
From that perspective, wifi seems to be an ideal solution compared to other options. It has matured over the years from Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) to Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) to WPA2. Also everybody who uses internet has had exposure to wifi routers and are comfortable using it (atleast in the sense that they know it is secure). (Note: Wifi Protected Setup (WPS) PIN feature is not secure and should be turned off in the router http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/723755.)
Traditionally to bridge the gap between internet and IoT, people came up with Gateway architecture. The devices talk to the gateway using proprietary protocols. The gateway then relays this information on the internet. I call this hammer and nail architecture to highlight the deficiency of the design. One always need both hammer and nail to get started. And since each manufacturer uses his own proprietary protocol and no manufacturer produces all the devices that you might need, one ended up with several gateway devices. And if the maufacturer goes bankrupt or stop producing/supporting those devices, the devices end up as garbage.
Additionally, one would like complete control over access to a device restricting usage only to authorized users. Security wasn't a major issue when you had only single device (a computer or a cell phone) which could be reformatted in worst case. But it takes a different dimension altogether when we are talking about every electronic/electrical device being connected on the network. While it's fascinating to see a device being controlled over internet, it also raises a red-flag about what if the control lands into wrong hands? The situation of helplessness is what a consumer dreads!
From that perspective, wifi seems to be an ideal solution compared to other options. It has matured over the years from Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) to Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) to WPA2. Also everybody who uses internet has had exposure to wifi routers and are comfortable using it (atleast in the sense that they know it is secure). (Note: Wifi Protected Setup (WPS) PIN feature is not secure and should be turned off in the router http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/723755.)
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