Intro to The Internet of Things

A new term I’d like to introduce you to is the “Internet of Things”, describing the many new devices flooding the Internet from automated door locks, refrigerators, security systems, temperature thermostats, security cameras, home storage devices, HVAC controllers, automobiles, phones, wearables (watches, exercise bands, biometric devices), and so on. If you think about it, each of us has many devices that have direct access to the Internet or can be accessed from another device through the Internet. In my opinion, many of these devices don’t have security protection capabilities to be connected directly to the Internet safely. They may make life convenient and may be “cool” but what manufacturers don’t tell us is they may be built using older technology – operating systems, code, chips, etc. – that were neither designed to be connected directly to the Internet or were not designed with the security features needed to protect themselves from today’s security threats. Individually, they don’t have the capability to protect themselves from threats coming directly from the Internet. Now that they’re connected to the Internet, they can be accessed directly by an individual or hijacked anonymously by a rogue program trolling the Internet for vulnerabilities. Once found, these devices can be infiltrated and code implanted to run in the background without the device, or you, knowing about it.