| | SEPTEMBER 201919CIOReviewContrary to popular belief, the Internet of Things, or IoT, is not new. The technology world loves to put a single label on a trend so that it can package and promote it, but the industry has been connecting intelligent devices for years. It's been a steady evolution, not revolution. Embedded processing has been adding intelligence and improving the performance of devices around us for decades.What is new is the broad availability of low-cost processing and wireless communications, making it possible to connect almost anything to the internet for just a couple of dollars. But just because we can, doesn't mean we should. In the rush to connect all kinds of devices, we run the real risk of compromising security and privacy, which can slow the growth of truly valuable products and services. Consumers are just now realizing how all of this data gathering can be helpful, but that it can have some negative consequences as well.It all starts with securityA key challenge for the IoT is ensuring that information collected from the vast number of edge nodes is not intercepted or altered as it makes its way through intelligent gateways and to the cloud. Suppliers are working to ensure that building blocks of a secure system are in place and available. Encrypted flash memory, secure boot, communications protocols and other building blocks help create a chain of security. Many companies are making products that will connect to both consumer and business networks, thus demanding a process for securing the connections and authenticating nodes that will be trusted on the network. In this time of `bring your own device', keeping the network secure is a huge challenge.There is also the necessity of employing secure and intelligent IoT gateways. These `universal translators' are tasked to communicate with devices that use a myriad of wireless By Steven P. Nelson, Executive Director, IOT Freescale SemiconductorNOW THAT WE CAN CONNECT EVERYTHING, SHOULD WE?CXO INSIGHTS
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