#3 - The Mysteries and Insecurities of IoT (a.k.a The Internet Of Things 2017)

Nov 28 2017 • 20 mins

The Internet of Things! Oh! That! The Internet… got it… Of… no problem… Things… nope you lost me.

When I first heard the term IoT I had no f*cking idea what it was and what it meant. Obviously it was made completely clear when I was told what it stood for…

How long did it take, and who came up with that catch phrase? And why on earth did it stick? Internet of Stuff would have been IOS and we can’t have Apple breathing down our necks. Internet of Devices? What stopped us there? The Institute of Directors perhaps? Those biz savvy suits play hardball about being top dog on the google search so we couldn’t usurp that acronym. So here we are with IoT.

Regardless of how we got here… IoT is a buzzword/acronym/TLA (three letter acronym)/phrase which only through the atrition of use is starting to become somewhat understood.

Defering to wikipedia (give that guy some money) it’s defined as: “The Internet of things (IoT) is the network of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity which enable these objects to connect and exchange data.”

Teddy “Creepy” Ruxpin

It’s that last bit… the “network connectivity” that is the critical new element that creates IoT. We’ve had the “physical devices, vehicles, home appliances, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators”…and of course the machine that goes “ping!” for a while now in the form of TVs, toasters, baby monitors, lawn mowers, ovens, heart monitors and teddy bears. Yes Teddy Bears. I’m thinking of that old scary Teddy Ruxpin thing from the 80s. It haunts me in my nightmares.