You may be asking yourself, what is the "Internet of things" and what impact does it have on you? The Internet of things is the extension of Internet connectivity into physical devices and everyday objects. Embedded with electronics, Internet connectivity, and other forms of hardware, these devices can communicate and interact with others over the Internet, and they can be remotely monitored and controlled. Think you don’t have any connected devices in your life? Think again. Smart speakers (Alexa, Google Home, etc.), thermostats, baby monitors, and surveillance cameras are just a handful of the commonly connected devices in your home. Imagine a day in a totally connected life. 

Your smart watch knows exactly how much sleep you need so it tells your alarm clock to wake you up at the perfect moment. Your alarm clock tells your coffee pot to start brewing that cup of joe just in time for you to walk out to your smart car, which is connected to your work calendar. It gets you to that morning meeting and even reroutes you to avoid that traffic on the interstate. You arrive to your meeting in time and your smart car even parallel parks for you! But it goes beyond creature comforts.

In the not so near future, entire cities will be connected via the internet. In some cases, they already are! Water quality, waste management systems, smart roads, smart lighting – all communicating via the internet. So what’s the worry? Security, of course. In 2020, there will be an estimated 20.4 BILLION IoT devices. That’s roughly 3 connected devices for each person on earth. Unfortunately, the popularity of IoT devices is increasing faster than security standards.

 At this time, there is little to no regulation governing the security that these devices must have so it’s up to you, the owner, to be vigilant. 

You can protect yourself by making sure you do the following:

  • Know what devices you have in your home or office that are connected to the internet
  • Understand what personal information is housed in and shared from your personal device(s)
  • Change all default passwords
  • Secure your home network – Don’t let just anyone connect to your home or business Wi-Fi
  • Regularly patch (update) your IoT devices
  • Review privacy settings
  • Educate yourself and pay attention
  • Just because it CAN connect to the internet doesn’t necessarily mean it should – ask yourself if internet connectivity is worth the risk