The Internet of Things
Internet of Things: Physical devices connected to the internet that collect and exchange data.
Not computers or phones. Things that were never “smart” before.
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Smart Home | Thermostats, door locks, cameras, light bulbs, fridges |
| Wearables | Fitness trackers, smartwatches, medical monitors |
| Industrial | Factory sensors, power grid monitors, pipelines |
| Medical | Insulin pumps, pacemakers, hospital equipment |
| Vehicles | Cars, fleet tracking, autonomous systems |
| Infrastructure | Traffic lights, water systems, smart bridges |
The scale is staggering.
There are more IoT devices on Earth than people. Billions of tiny computers, everywhere, connected to everything.
Every “smart” device is a computer. Every computer can be hacked.
Why IoT Security is Hard
Traditional computers have decades of security evolution. IoT throws all that out.
Constrained Resources
These aren’t laptops. They’re tiny chips with:
- Limited CPU: Can’t run complex cryptography
- Limited memory: Can’t store big keys or certificates
- Limited battery: Crypto operations drain power
You can’t “install antivirus” on a light bulb.
Long Lifecycles
Your phone gets updates for 3-5 years. But IoT devices?
- Thermostats deployed for 10-20 years
- Manufacturers go out of business
- No one patches a device from 2015
The device you install today will still be running when you’ve forgotten it exists.
Physical Access
Attackers can physically touch IoT devices. They’re in public spaces, in your home, everywhere.
- Extract firmware from the chip
- Probe debug ports
- Clone the device entirely
Traditional security assumes attackers are remote. IoT can’t assume that.
No User Interface
How do you configure security on a light bulb? There’s no screen. No keyboard.
- Default passwords stay default
- No way to see if something’s wrong
- Updates require technical knowledge most users don’t have
The simpler the device, the harder it is to secure.