Bay Path University

9 The IoT brings remarkable convenience, but also poses larger questions about privacy and security for individuals and companies. In a world that is already subject to cyber attacks and cyber-terrorism, IoT opens up new avenues where we are all vulnerable to hackers, cyber criminals, and, yes, cyber warriors employed by countries and organizations. There are bad things happening out there. It's the new battle line we can't always see or control. Regardless of the situation, the name of the game is detection and rapid response. Members of the Bay Path faculty in the fields of cybersecurity, data science, and communications and information management weigh in on the Internet of Things, present best practices in protection, and provide opinions on cyber attacks. What do Alexa and Dyn have in common? A television station in San Diego aired a story of a young girl who asked Alexa, the voice of Amazon Echo, to order her a dollhouse and some cookies. When the packages arrived on the doorstep, the mother was puzzled. It was only when the young girl told her mother about asking Alexa for the items that the mother put two-and-two together. The TV story wasn't about the dollhouse, but how technology is so accessible—and the remarkable adeptness of children adopting it to their needs. But what happened next was truly remarkable. Countless homes in the San Diego area found their Alexa devices attempting to order dollhouses. Apparently, when the broadcast aired, Alexa heard the anchor say, "Alexa order me a dollhouse." Alexa was only doing what it was told. "Alexa is an excellent example of IoT device," states Professor Robin Saunders, Director of the Communications and Information Management program. "It is voice activated for consumer ease of use. And while you may not know it, it is amassing data on all your choices and purchasing actions through a sensor that is connected to the cloud. Alexa extends the computing network to your coffee table or kitchen counter. But, as Alexa has shown, it opens up the door to security problems." Across the continent, a different scenario with the IoT played out with much graver implications. A relatively unknown company in New Hampshire named Dyn was the victim of a cyberattack. Why Dyn? When you type in a website, Dyn makes sure you get there. It's a shadow company with clients that include Paypal, Netflix, and The New York Times, to name a few. Hackers used a virus named Mirai and over- whelmed Dyn's servers using data generated from the IoT. It was like a tsunami of data hit Dyn. Its clients were tem- porarily paralyzed. Professor Larry Snyder, Director of the MS in Cybersecurity Management Program, gives this interpretation: "An attack such as this, using the IoT, was quite novel. And this just wasn't an hour or two—it lasted for quite some time, resulting in its roster of companies losing considerable dollars. It points out that cybersecurity is big business for both the victims and the cyber attackers. If a company doesn't have a cybersecurity plan in place or employees who are educated in cybersecurity, they may leave themselves open to crippling cyberattacks." As a Consumer, Why Does the IoT Matter? The positives for consumers from the IoT are numerous: ease of communication, improved efficiencies, and enhanced quality of life. But are we sacrificing individual privacy and security for convenience? What about all that data that's out there? "We are in midst of an explosion of big data, and the IoT is part of it," notes Dr. Ning Jia, Director of the MS in Applied Data Science Program. "New algorithms, more powerful computers, and the existence of the cloud has made data collecting a booming business. For example, the Nielsen Data Center has over a thousand variables, on average, for an adult. They can make predications on consumer behavior—your behavior. Through data analytics, you will be able to purchase the right item at the right price at the right time. For the consumer, this translates into conveniene and savings." America's culture of consumerism is ripe for providing data on www.baypath.edu What is the Internet of Things (IoT)? Many of the "things" in your home, work or personal life are actually "smart" devices using wireless technology that is connected to the cloud. Smart devices, through sensors, microchips, software, and other methods can now collect and exchange enormous amounts of data on your activities. It's not only cell phones, but lighting and heating for your home, heart pacemakers, refrigerators, televisions, and more. And this is only the beginning. Networking giant Cisco estimates that the number of IoT devices will be more than 50 billion by 2020. Even more astounding is that this number translates to, on average, 26 smart devices for every human being on earth. ___________________ we are in a new era of remarkable convenience — and vulnerability. ___________________

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