Beyond just the newest goods, the world of the Internet of Things includes more. As the number of related products grows, and the procedures, duties, and innovations that surround it, all of which contribute to effective IoT integration, are expected to exceed 29 billion by 2027.
The major four IoT styles that are emerging have been identified by TechRepublic with the assistance of Steve Statler, the chief marketing officer at IoT tech company Wiliot. K. businesses should be aware of: the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure ( PSTI ) Act, narrowband IoT, AI-augmented IoT and new memory technologies.
While narrowband IoT may produce a number of new tools available to distant companies, it decision makers must make sure all their devices are cooperative with the PSTI Act or they may not be protected from digital threats. A wide range of high-performance devices may become more affordable as a result of the continued growth of AI-augmented products and fresh storage technologies.
Notice: Best IIoT Security Risks
1. Conformity with the 2022 Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act
By April 29, 2024, all IoT machine suppliers, buyers and marketers, including refurbished items, in the U. K. will have to follow the PSTI 2022. This means that, as a minimum:
- Devices may be password-enabled.
- The length of the device’s protection assistance is disclosed.
- Consumers are free to review safety concerns.
According to Statler, “common feeling procedures ” like these are necessary if we want to make the most of what IoT can provide industry in the U.S. K. He told TechRepublic in a visit, “The opportunity is to get the biggest, most innovative, effective power — which is AI and the cloud— and use it to the 99 % of things that are already in the dark, that are offline. We won’t get to do that if safety is an issue. ”
Although the PSTI Act’s needs may seem simple, a study by the Internet of Things Security Foundation found that only 56 people live in the country in 2023. 7 % and 56. 1 % of E.U. suppliers for well-known IoT products. U. and U. K. , both, have implemented a risk disclosure policy.
The PSTI Act serves as an example of how institutions are beginning to think about computer security in various parts of the world. In the region, the EU Cybersecurity Act introduced a powerful computer security certification model for products, services, and procedures involving information and communication technologies. The IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act became effective in the United States the following year. S. prohibits organizations from using IoT devices that do n’t adhere to the National Institute of Standards and Technology‘s standards.
What does this IoT trend mean for the U.S. K. businesses?
For the majority of American businesses. K. Due to the new regulations, it will be crucial to follow-up on the PSTI Act for all IoT products in use. However, even after that box is ticked, they must take the precautions that the now legally mandated IoT settings facilitate, added Statler.
He told TechRepublic, “The businesses that have adopted IoT need to say, ‘Okay, it ’s now the law that I can update the firmware to include security patches, but am I doing it? Do I have the organizational structure to act on the passwords and do I make sure they are changed? ’ ”
According to IT security company Zscaler, IoT malware attacks increased by 400 % in 2023, and 34 of the 39 most-used IoT exploits have been present on devices for at least three years. Additionally, according to a study conducted by Microsoft, 80 % of organizations already had IoT integrated into their operations in 2019 and are still likely to rely on outdated technology.
Unmanaged devices, in fact, pose a significant threat to cyber security. IoT device security in 2024: The High Cost of Doing Nothing, published by the security firm Asimily, frequently states that:
- Are built with low-cost software.
- are not intended to connect to the internet using any setup procedures.
- Have hard-coded default passwords.
- Lack vendor support.
- because they are deemed to be too crucial for operations, should not be updated or taken offline.
The Asimily analysts wrote in the report that once threat actors gain initial access to a network from a discoverable IoT device, they can then go further into the information architecture to accomplish their objectives.
IoT equipment is particularly vulnerable to common security pitfalls at the individual device level. A potentially fatal attack can be caused by even one unprotected device. These issues must be addressed in order to combat rising attacks on IoT devices. ”
2. increased connectivity resulting from narrowband IoT
Narrowband IoT, or NB-IoT, is a low-power, long-range fixed wireless network that can connect low data demand assets like street lights and underground water sensors. BT launched its NB-IoT network in the United States in February 2024. K. , making it the second telecoms provider to do so after Vodafone in 2017. Nothing has been made publicly about Three UK’s since 2019, despite Virgin Media O2’s plans to finish its own rollout of a NB-IoT network by the end of the year.
To aid in the rapid development of smart cities in the U.S., BT’s NB-IoT was developed. K. , as it will enable many processes involving these low data demand assets to be automated, like leak detection, smart lighting and parking monitors. Additionally, it will reduce costs and increase the efficiency of the IoT devices.
The NB-IoT network’s expansion to more remote locations may have a positive impact on the environment. According to a 2018 study, 40 % of irrigation water depletes crucial environmental flows, which is known to be one of the least environmentally friendly agricultural practices. Overwatering can harm nearby soil quality and ecosystems, while biocides have negative effects on surface and groundwater quality. Variable-rate irrigation systems utilise IoT sensors, controllers and actuators to adjust irrigation rates based on factors such as soil moisture levels, crop needs, weather conditions and field topography. Such technology can reduce water use by 15 %, according to a 2020 study, and be repurposed to precision spray biocides.
What does this IoT trend mean for the U.S. K. businesses?
U. K. businesses that make use of low-power technologies for applications like environmental monitoring, livestock tracking, gas and water metering and smart alarm systems, especially in remote areas, will reap the benefits of the expansion of NB-IoT networks.
According to Statler, having narrowband IoT gives you the price and performance that will enable the deployment of new classes of IoT devices and begin to close the gap between the 99 % of offline goods and the full business benefits of using AI and connectivity with them. ”
Chris Keone, managing director of BT’s Division X, said in a press release, “Growing numbers of businesses are beginning to realise the benefits of IoT applications, and our U. K. -wide NB-IoT network opens up a wide range of connectivity solutions for monitors, sensors, and other smart devices. ”
3. AI improves IoT performance
Qualcomm Technologies announced in April 2024 a new embedded AI platform, RB3 Gen 2 Platform, designed to improve the speed of AI processing on IoT devices. This is a sign of the expanding trend of adding AI technology to sensors, microcontrollers, and other IoT hardware to improve their performance.
The majority of IoT devices ‘ modus operandi is data collection, and according to the International Data Corporation, the total amount produced by IoT devices will be 80B zettabytes by 2025. This information can be used to train AI models that add new functionality to the IoT device as well as being directly useful.
Statler told TechRepublic, “This mega trend of connecting everything to the internet, you’re overwhelmed with data, and everyone’s short of time and impatient. How do you then solve that? Well, that ’s where AI comes in.
AI has the ability to transform a stream of IoT data into actionable insights, alerts, and insights. Additionally, it makes it possible to converse with this particular IoT visibility platform.
Additionally, machine learning is required to distill the data produced by all of these sensors into the fundamental actionable events. Therefore, machine learning and AI are required to interpret this low level data beyond providing a simple conversational interface with the IoT. ”
AI, for instance, makes predictive maintenance easier in IoT devices by analyzing data patterns to anticipate potential failures before they occur, such as in titanium cutting equipment and wind turbines, enhancing safety and uptime. Similar to the Verdigris Smart Building Management System, it can dynamically adjust settings to reduce waste and increase efficiency. Demand forecasting and natural language interfaces are other potential IoT applications.
SEE: Top 5 AI Trends to Watch in 2024
What does this IoT trend mean for the U.S. K. businesses?
The average hourly cost of manufacturing plant downtime in the U.S. is based on the 2023 Industry in Motion report by electronics company RS. K. is £5,121, meaning that AI-augmented IoT has significant scope to lower this figure. According to McKinsey analysts, predictive maintenance can increase production line availability by up to 15 %, thereby lowering maintenance costs by up to 25 %. Savings can also be made in energy efficiency, such as IBM’s use of machine learning IoT to reduce the energy consumption of cooling systems in its commercial buildings by 30 %.
Jeff Torrance, senior vice president in industrial and embedded IoT for Qualcomm, said in the RB3 Gen 2 announcement, “Coming soon, we will be expanding our portfolio of IoT products to address high-performance, industrial grade solutions that will bring a new era of intelligence, functional safety, and robust high-performance compute and I/O capabilities to the most demanding industrial applications. ”
In a demonstration of “trickle-down technology, ” a wider range of products can be anticipated to become more accessible to businesses of different budgets with new technologies increasing the speed of AI processing on the IoT device and raising the bar for performance. Statler claimed that the secret to this is to move the processing from distributed architectures to “closer to the edge ” while also adding AI. “That’s how it becomes more economic and it can scale, ” he told TechRepublic.
Those who clamor to exploit these AI-powered devices should be cautious because they could also introduce a whole new category of cyber threats. According to Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence, up to 17 % of organisations think AI and IoT are either “very difficult ” or “extremely difficult ” to protect, while only 8 % and 12 % of AI and IoT users, respectively, believe their companies are fully protected.
4. New memory innovations expand the market
Data provider TrendForce discovered in March 2024 that demand for traditional semiconductors like DRAM and NAND flash had slowed. Having said that, research into more advanced memory technologies is not progressing. In January 2024, a Nature paper unveiled a new “superlattice ” that could form the basis of “one of the frontrunners for energy-efficient data storage and computing, ” according to the authors.
Indeed, a number of non-volatile memory technologies are starting to be prepared for IoT devices, such as magnetic RAM ( MRAM ) and resistive RAM. These chips improve IoT devices ‘ performance and efficiency by enabling faster data access and lower power consumption during data storage and retrieval operations.
SEE: How to Test Your RAM With Windows Memory Diagnostic
What does this IoT trend mean for the U.S. K. businesses?
The rising sophistication of top-of-the-range chips combined with the price reduction of traditional flash memory will help democratize a new generation of IoT devices for U.S. in a way similar to AI-augmented IoT. K. businesses. This replacement may result in significant market expansion as MRAM$ per GB costs approach those of SRAM ( static RAM ), according to storage consulting firm Coughlin Associates in its report Emerging Memories Branch Out.
Statler agreed, telling TechRepublic, “The cost of the wafer is relatively fixed … so the more memory chips I can get on there, I’m basically amortising that cost. ”
He added that new memory technologies could reduce the overall size of the device and costs associated with manufacturing, resulting in lower IoT power efficiency, which would mean smaller batteries are needed. He told TechRepublic,” Having memory that uses less power will be good for the environment and the cost of devices.
“As cost goes down, adoption goes up, new use cases become possible. One of the things that is increasing the IoT’s pervasiveness is this. ”
This raises the bar for what it takes to be competitive in a particular industry as new technologies drive up IoT adoption. “More and more businesses need to be technology savvy, and that puts a burden on them, ” Statler told TechRepublic. “If you’re going to be successful, you need to kind of understand more about it than you did last year. ”