The Successful Emergence of the Internet of Things - Research Paper Example

The main purpose of this paper, therefore, is to investigate the features, challenges, and weaknesses that will come about, as the IoT becomes reality with the connection of more and more physical objects. Specifically, the study seeks to assess emergent challenges due to denial of service attacks, eavesdropping, node capture in the IoT infrastructure, and physical security of the sensors. We conducted a literature review about IoT, its features, challenges, and vulnerabilities. The methodology paradigm used was qualitative in nature with exploratory research design, while data was collected using the desk research method.

We found that in the distributed form of architecture in IoT, attackers could hijack unsecured network devices converting them into bots to attack third parties. Moreover, attackers could target communication channels and extract data from the information flow. Finally, the perceptual layer in distributed IoT architecture is also found to be vulnerable to node capture attacks, including physical capture, brute force attack, DDoS attacks, and node privacy leaks.IoT can be defined as a future where everyday physical objects are connected by the Internet in one form or the other, but outside the traditional desktop realm [1].

To meet this challenge, it is expected that sensor networks and RFID technologies will become increasingly integral to the human environment, in which communication and information systems will be invisibly embedded. Subsequently, massive volumes of data will need to be processed, stored, and presented in an easily interpretable, efficient, and seamless form. Kortuem et al [2] argue that context-aware computation via network resources and smart connectivity via existing networks will be critical elements of the IoT.

Some shreds of evidence of the evolution towards ubiquitous communications and information networks can be seen in the growing presence of 4G-LTE and WiFi. The successful emergence of the IoT vision, however, will require computing to extend past traditional scenarios involving portables and smart-phones to the connection of everyday physical objects and the integration of intelligence with the environment.