Picture this!
- You wake up in the morning when Google Home prompted you.
- As you walk to the bathroom, 2 claps and the lights turn on.
- A quick glance at your smart mirror, you know the weather and time of the day.
- As you walk to the fridge, it automatically reminds you to drink water.
- With no keys at all, your door automatically locks itself while you head to work.
- Within a 5 meter proximity, your car unlocks itself.
Sounds amazing right? Well… I agree. This is the Internet of Things (IoT), where physical devices around the world are now connected to the internet, all collecting and sharing data. This includes everything from mobile phones, coffee makers, washing machines, headphones, lamps, wearable devices and almost anything else you can think of.
According to Statista, there were an estimated 22 billion IoT connected devices in use around the world at the end of 2018, and its forecasted to hit 50 billion by 2030.
With that, it changes the whole landscape of how organizations view their businesses moving forward. With the IoT in place, businesses are able to utilize data collected to generate actionable outcomes, while simultaneously monitoring and analyzing these data to make better decisions.
According to IMDA,
On an Economical level, it increases productivity through operational efficiency and addressing manpower shortage.
On a Societal level, it optimizes healthcare delivery and offer lifestyle convenience.
On a Safety and Security level, it improves food safety and safeguards security.
However, while IoT can lead to higher efficiency, it poses certain risks as well. On today’s topic, I will be discussing about specifically, privacy.
A study done by Microsoft suggested that less than 1 in 4 Singapore consumers trust organisations that provide digital services to protect their personal data. This figures places Singapore below the Asia Pacific average of 31%.
This reflects that consumers are aware and sensitive of what kinds of data are collected and what businesses do with their personal data. An example of misusing data would be how a British political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica harvested the data of at least 87 million Facebook users without their knowledge after obtaining it from people who partook in a quiz app. Cambridge Analytica then sold this data to the Donald Trump campaign, which used it to target election messages at Facebook users in the 2016 presidential election campaign. This shows how weak practices of data security could lead to undesirable outcomes.
Again, with IoT creating an endless potential for digital connectivity, organizations are more inclined and more heavily reliant on such opportunities. In turn, this gives external parties such as hackers, more chances to hack into cyber systems to acquire sensitive information. A pretty recent example would be the stolen personal data of SingHealth patients. A total of 1.5 million non-medical personal data was stolen, even the data of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Thus, there is an urgent need to protect and store such sensitive information securely to prevent any data breach.
I recently watched a TedTalk on the danger of IoT devices by Professor Yuval Elovici, the Head of the Cyber Security Research Center at Ben Gurion University, where he mentioned how people are subconsciously feeding data to organizations, and how such situations can be dangerous as these data can be used to learn many things about us. Take some time to watch it, pretty insightful I would say!
In all, with studies and researches defining how the IoT can be beneficial for the world in the future, we must also understand the risk that are exposed to us. For now, let us all educate ourselves about what the IoT is and the potential impacts that can be seen on how we work and live.
What do you think about the future of the IoT? Let me know your thoughts below!
Cheers.
THE ROCKET MARKETER 
WOW! Great post! I really find it interesting how the internet of things can make our lives so much better and yet could compromise us in so many different ways. It really brings to mind a lot of black mirror episodes that I watched. I think in time though, people will eventually sell out and trust their data with big tech firms. This is seen from the trend of how people giving their credit card information to online groups. As technology advances, there will be much more trust from consumers as well! Just my opinion though!
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Hi Marvin, thanks for reply. YES, Black Mirror is a super relatable reference!
Well, you’re not wrong. Personally, trust is something very sensitive and it makes people uncomfortable and scared especially when it comes to personal data. It takes a really long time build and can be broken with just one wrong move. But like you’ve said, in time to come as technology advances, consumers will be more acceptive in trusting firms with their data.
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Hi, great post IOT! I feel that the future of IOT is going to be super exciting with things such as smart cities where things would be automated and managed remotely. Also with artificial intelligence booming even further, there could be more automated restaurants for example. There’s just so much IOT can do for people as technology advances further.
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Hi Dave, thanks for the reply! Interesting points. As we speak, I believe the Haidilao hotpot chain located at Marina Square has incorporated a fully automated restaurant with features such as robot waiters, smart technologies to customize soup bases for customers, customer preferences uploaded on their cloud storage as well as a 5G interactive virtual and augmented experience corner. Taking this as an example, IoT has already reached a level where restaurants do not need manpower to operate, & like you’ve mentioned, there’s just so much more IoT can do for us and businesses alike in the future as technology advances further.
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hey, great stuff there! my opinion is such that I actually like how IOT is as of now and am pretty looking forward to see how it can bring us further. IOT has created SO much convenience especially in terms of daily living such as purchasing things, commuting etc. simple yet effective in short. I personally would like to see how IOT can benefit vehicles or road usage in general, especially when there are such a huge number of road accidents seen recently in Singapore. I always feel accidents are super unnecessary and can always be avoided if drivers and pedestrians alike take the effort to be vigilant. so its interesting to see how IOT can improve such situations.
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Hi Sean, thanks for the reply! My exact sentiments on the current IoT situation. Great point, I too, feel that the situation on road accidents in Singapore are quite dire and in need of a solution. With more advanced technologies in the future, perhaps smarter vehicles and traffic control? In a sense where vehicles are able to detect traffic signals and unusual incoming vehicles or pedestrians OR traffic controls that are able to detect irregular crossings or vehicle movement. I believe the possibilities are limitless but yes, using IoT to create solutions for such situations are very important in keeping our roads safe.
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hi there interesting perspective on iot. I fully agree that iot can be dangerous especially when it comes to personal data. but i also feel that in the future, people would be more receptive towards iot in a sense where there would be more trust when it comes to firms handling personal information. like you said in the post, there will be much more iot devices in the future, and personally i feel that this would become a norm to people where there would be more comfort in providing data to firms.
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Hi Jeremy, thanks for the reply! A totally valid point, I believe when it comes to trust, it can be a sensitive issue to some. Trust after all, has to be earned. Hence, it is important for businesses to exercise the right practices when it comes to handling consumers’ personal information. In the long run, with proper practices put in place, consumers would then be able to cultivate the trust with organizations. Additionally, with the forecasted increase in IoT devices in the future, more efficient and effective practices could be invented to better protect consumers’ information.
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VERY insightful post, I’ve heard of the term IoT everywhere but just didn’t know what it meant. To answer your question, there is just a gazillion things IoT can do in the future. Some might not even exist as we speak. But I think some interesting concepts could be a more advance healthcare system, “smart” cities and housing, and better security measures. Perhaps smarter cars? haha!
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Hi Wei Le, thanks for the reply! Totally relevant concepts. Healthcare systems in particular, is incredibly vital. Reason being, with so much uncertainties in terms of potential harmful diseases that might occur in the future, IoT allows better systems to be put in place and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare sector in general which is essential to tackle future outbreaks.
Additionally, with increased IoT devices comes increased risk of misusing personal information as well as the rise of hackers out there. Therefore, there’s a need for organizations to make use of IoT to exercise vigilance and constantly upgrade its security systems in order to prevent both internal and external threats.
SMART CARS, awesome idea indeed!
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Wonderful post please keep up with the good content coming 🙂 regarding big data do you think that there is an intrusion of privacy when companies uses these information to better serve their consumers? Is it right for them to do so?
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Hi Brian, thanks for the reply! Well it is, if firms do not seek permission before using the information. Therefore, providing visitors with clear information about the website’s privacy policies is one way that companies can mitigate their legal risk.
Is it right then? Well, I think it is a very grey area where some people might think its okay because in return, they get better service while some people might think its not okay because its their personal information after all. Hence, companies have to adopt proper practices when it comes to handling customers’ personal information, and have it well-protected in order to prevent any data misuse/external threats such as hackers.
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