{"id":66245,"date":"2015-01-09T04:14:34","date_gmt":"2015-01-09T09:14:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/countingpips.com\/?p=66245"},"modified":"2015-01-09T07:29:25","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T12:29:25","slug":"the-dark-side-of-the-internet-of-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/2015\/01\/the-dark-side-of-the-internet-of-things\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dark Side of the Internet of Things"},"content":{"rendered":"
January 9, 2015<\/div>
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By WallStreetDaily.com<\/span><\/a> \"Internet<\/p>\n

By Greg Miller<\/a>, Senior Technology Analyst<\/em><\/p>\n

Analysts and commentators are in almost-unanimous agreement\u2026<\/p>\n

The next massive phase of the digital revolution will be the Internet of Things (IoT).<\/p>\n

That is, the idea that all devices and appliances will be connected to the internet, allowing them to be controlled from anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n

If you thought the internet changed our lives, just wait until the IoT reaches its stride.<\/p>

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However, as both consumers and investors, there are some crucial facts that we need to know about the IoT.<\/p>\n

And be warned: Not all of them are so promising. In fact, some are downright dangerous\u2026<\/p>\n

From Science Fiction to Science Fact: The Internet of Things Is Here<\/h2>\n

The inevitability of the IoT trend was predicted as far back as 1996, when technicians who control the mechanics of the internet introduced a new internet numbering system called IPv6. This will account for all the new devices that need a unique address to connect to the internet.<\/p>\n

Indeed, during his keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), currently taking place in Las Vegas, Samsung<\/strong> (SSNLF<\/a>) joint-CEO Boo-Keun Yoon said that the IoT is \u201cnot science fiction anymore. It\u2019s science fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s partly right.<\/p>\n

While growth of the IoT has proved slower than anticipated so far (only 4% of the internet uses IPv6), industry gurus say the shift is finally upon us. More devices \u2013 ones both familiar and newly developed \u2013 will be available with an online presence.<\/p>\n

But not everything about this new future is shiny and bright.<\/p>\n

There are two big drawbacks to the Internet of Things\u2026<\/p>\n

The Dark Side of the Internet of Things<\/h2>\n

The first big concern is privacy.<\/p>\n

More people = more devices connected to the IoT = more data.<\/p>\n

As a result, that means we\u2019ll need much greater ways to store all the extra data and, most importantly, protect it. It\u2019s a serious concern, and my colleague, Louis Basenese, has brought these IoT privacy issues<\/a> up before.<\/p>\n

But is failsafe security even possible?<\/p>\n

After all, we already know that the internet isn\u2019t 100% secure. Data hacking of corporations, governments, and general consumers is an increasingly troubling problem.<\/p>\n

Last week, for example, I talked about how health and fitness company Fitbit<\/a> accidently made some of its users\u2019 sex lives available on Google<\/strong> (GOOGL<\/a>) back in 2011.<\/p>\n

More recently, there were the high-profile cases of hackers<\/a> breaching Apple\u2019s<\/strong> (AAPL<\/a>) servers and disseminating celebrities\u2019 lewd photos all over the internet.<\/p>\n

Also, the health records of everyday people sell for $50 on the internet\u2019s black market.<\/p>\n

So consider what will happen when information such as your home security system and departure\/arrival habits \u2013 or even how many times a day your pacemaker delivers a shock to your heart \u2013 is out on the internet.<\/p>\n

Hackers aren\u2019t the only privacy concern, either\u2026<\/p>\n

Doomed by Data<\/h2>\n

With massive amounts of our personal data floating around, what happens if your life insurance company decides to hike your rate or cancel your policy because it bought data that shows you drive too fast, or don\u2019t take your diabetes medication when you\u2019re supposed to?<\/p>\n

Or a mortgage company denies you a mortgage not<\/em> because of an unacceptable credit rating, but based on data that\u2019s completely irrelevant to your ability to repay?<\/p>\n

FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez addressed privacy concerns at CES on Tuesday. While her speech was well-thought-out and reasonable, governments rarely stop at speeches. And the only thing worse than a big company snooping through your data is a big company having your data with the government looking over its shoulder!<\/p>\n

The second big concern of the IoT is more pertinent to investors. Namely, do we actually need all this stuff, anyway?<\/p>\n

Do Coffee Pots Really Need to Be Online?<\/h2>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong\u2026 some of the new devices coming out are unquestionably beneficial, especially if security challenges can be overcome.<\/p>\n

For example, blood glucose monitors could be helpful not only to the people who wear them, but also to researchers developing future treatments.<\/p>\n

Or a thermostat that knows when the weather is about to turn sharply warmer or colder can save money \u2013 particularly if nobody will be home for several hours.<\/p>\n

And while my Fitbit article last week was bearish, the information collected by the device can provide good motivational tools for its users.<\/p>\n

But there are limits \u2013 and not all devices need to do everything.<\/p>\n

I mean, do we really need coffee pots that connect to the internet? Are there so many people who\u2019d actually benefit from being able to make their coffee from the living room? Or so addicted to the stuff that they must start coffee when they\u2019re exactly 10 minutes away from home, so it\u2019s brewed as soon as they arrive?<\/p>\n

Heck, one of the products at CES is an internet-enabled flower pot!<\/p>\n

Many \u201cthings\u201d for the IoT will never be sold. They\u2019ll see plenty of hype, and some will see an initial sales jolt. But a lot more will merely be short-lived tchotchkes that will either collect dust or die out altogether.<\/p>\n

So while you should embrace the IoT \u2013 both as a consumer and an investor \u2013 remember to keep your skeptic\u2019s hat on.<\/p>\n

To living and investing in the future,<\/p>\n

Greg Miller<\/p>\n

P.S.<\/strong> As the tech sector hits Las Vegas this week for CES, Silicon Valley is set to unleash the next batch of profits for investors. But as scorching new tech companies hit the market, how can ordinary investors cash in on their lucrative IPOs at pre-IPO prices? Answer: A secret loophole \u2013 unknown to 99% of investors \u2013 that allows you to invest alongside the best tech venture capitalists and wealth creators in history. Doing so boosts your chances of success enormously. Here\u2019s how the playing field just leveled dramatically for you<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

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The post The Dark Side of the Internet of Things<\/a> appeared first on Wall Street Daily<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By WallStreetDaily.com By Greg Miller, Senior Technology Analyst Analysts and commentators are in almost-unanimous agreement\u2026 The next massive phase of the digital revolution will be the Internet of Things (IoT). That is, the idea that all devices and appliances will be connected to the internet, allowing them to be controlled from anywhere in the world. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","no-post-thumbnail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66245\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}