ChapTeR 1 ■ The InTeRneT Of ThIngs and daTa
Securing IOT Services
This layer is the hardest to secure. If you purchase (lease) IOT services from a third party, security is built
for you. It is up to you to ensure you use all possible, reasonable practices to secure your data in the service.
For example, use good password policies. On the other hand, if you build your own Internet-facing services,
you should treat the system with the most secure practices possible. That is, your server should not be
accessible remotely without encryption, secure logins, and so on. If you plan to do this, you should consider
becoming proficient at securing web services.Summary
The Internet of Things is an exciting new world for everyone. Those of us young in heart but old enough
to remember The Jetsons TV series recall seeing a taste of what is possible in make-believe land. Talking
toasters, flying cars that spring from briefcases, and robots with attitude notwithstanding, television fantasy
of decades ago is coming true. We have wristwatches that double as phones and video players, we can
unlock our cars from around the world, we can find out whether our dog has gone outside, and we can even
answer the door from across the city. All of this is possible and working today with the advent of the IOT.
In this chapter, you discovered what the IOT is and how IOT solutions are constructed, were introduced
to some terminology to describe the architecture of IOT solutions, and saw some examples of well-known
IOT solutions. We also discussed the two most critical issues of IOT solutions: big data and security through
practical examples and discussion of the high points of the issues. You even saw a bit of source code along
the way!
In the next chapter, you will see a number of hardware you can use to build IOT solutions. You will see
devices for hosting or reading sensors and devices for collecting, augmenting, storing, and presenting data.