The Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet’s roots go back to the 1970’s, to a project called Arpanet which was initially funded by the U.S. Defense Department. It was built to link databases at colleges and government facilities to allow information sharing for research purposes. At that time, information was housed in mainframe systems, with different operating systems, and there was no easy way to share information. TCPIP is the protocol that was developed to facilitate this “network of networks.”
The World Wide Web started becoming increasingly popular in the 1990’s.
Now, the Internet is vast and global.
The Internet of Things refers to the connection of multiple devices, ranging from computers to mobile devices to homes, buildings, security systems, infrastructure devices, vehicles, etc.
Whether you are an individual, using your smart phone, laptop, or desktop, or a member of a large corporation, government entity, or other large group of people, the Internet literally connects you to the rest of the world!
According to Statista.com, in 2018 there are 23.14 billion connected devices, and by 2025, that number will grow to 75.44 billion.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/471264/iot-number-of-connected-devices-worldwide/
What does this mean for you and your use of the Internet?? A favorite expression of mine is “The Internet is like fire and water. It can be your friend and it can be your enemy!”
So caution is the operative word. With increased of use of the Internet comes increased interconnection, communication, dependency, possible intrusion, and security risks. The benefits should outweigh the risks, but security becomes more and more important. It is critical that we all pay more attention to how, when, and for what purpose we allow the Internet into our homes, our businesses, our cars, and our lives in general!
Check with IT Larry if you need help and advice!!
Connected devices in billions