About The Internet of Things (IoT)

The internet of things or IoT for short is a term that is basically used to refer to a system of the interconnection of computing devices and other devices like personal devices, home appliances and devices and more, that is connected to the internet, allowing the devices to share, send and receive data. Back in the days and before the introduction of the internet of things, only computing devices like computers, smartphones tablets. However, with the internet of things, any device can be connected to the internet and users can have access to the devices remotely from anywhere at any time through the internet.

Internet of Things is gradually becoming a smart way of living as it continues to grow, meaning that anyone can have access to their data, insights of things. When it comes to the use case of the internet of things, a smart home is a typical example as users can have access to and control the devices and appliances in their home from anywhere remotely through the internet. Some devices and appliances that are part of the internet of things use case are AC, water heater, doorbell, smoke detector, cameras, alarms, televisions, sound system, lights and more. With the internet of things, users can control any of these devices remotely or receive insights from anywhere using a mobile application.

Back then, only humans can communicate with one another via the internet from anywhere, now, with internet of things, things like devices, appliances and more can communicate and interact with one another. Take for instance, in a smart home that utilizes internet of things, the system could be programmed in which when the camera sensors detect the owner of the house from the outside door, it instantly opens the door, opens the curtains, opens the wardrobe closet, puts the living room in the theme and settings of the owner based on the time of the day, like turning the TV and sound system on, turning the lights on, playing specific songs and many more.

How Internet of Things can Benefit From Blockchain Technology

Increased and improved security

This is one of the main benefits of blockchain technology. Security is crucial for the future of internet of things. Because of the vast number of devices and applications that are connected, sending and receiving data and information between one another, it can lead to security issues, especially in situations where the devices are connected through centralized servers. Blockchain is a powerful technology that can offer the high-level security that is needed to make internet of things a viable solution to everyday life. Since it is extremely difficult to hack blockchain, it means that using blockchain technology as the base technology for internet of things makes it difficult for hackers to manipulate and hack into the system.

Improved Privacy

This is another way internet of things can benefit from blockchain technology. Privacy issues is one of the main drawbacks of internet of things. There is always a privacy risk when there is an interaction and transmission of data and information from one device to another and between devices. Since internet of things allows different things like devices, appliances etc, to interact and send and receive data, information between one another, it can serve as an attraction for malicious actors to intercept, steal or capture user data, private information that are being transferred from one device to another.

Blockchain helps to solve the privacy issues of internet of things. Privacy is one of the main benefits of blockchain and even though blockchain is transparent at its core, a lot of blockchains are designed for privacy in mind. Also, blockchain uses a special algorithm and methods to prevent malicious actors from intercepting or stealing private data or information carried out on the blockchain. Internet of things can benefit from this, meaning that all the private data, information and signals that is sent and received from one IoT device to the other, is safe and cannot be intercepted or stolen.

Speed

This is also another way internet of things can benefit from blockchain technology. Blockchain technology can offer a lot of transactions per second which means that transactions on the network are very fast. Yes, some might say that speed is one of the characteristics of internet of things, however, because of the way the system is in IoT, it can become a bit of an issue when there are too many congestion or devices sending and receiving information and data in the IoT network. Blockchain can help solve this. At the moment, we are already seeing some blockchains handling a lot of transactions at a time with high speed without any problems whatsoever, making blockchain technology a great solution when it comes to handling and processing large volumes of transactions faster.

High-level Encryption

This is another way internet of things can benefit from blockchain technology. When it comes to high-level encryption, then blockchain technology is up there as one of the best. This is also tied with the privacy issues of IoT I discussed above but because of the weight it carries, it is better to discuss it separately. We all know that in the world of internet of things, different things like devices, appliances, even vehicles can communicate and interact with each other. This can be an attraction for malicious actors who can intercept and steal the data and information from the system, which becomes a huge risk for the users.

Imagine an AI-powered smart vehicle that uses internet of things for autonomous driving. Malicious actors can intercept and capture the transferred data and information in the network to find out where the vehicle is at any given time, putting the car owner at huge risk. Blockchain technology uses a powerful encryption algorithm to encrypt the data and information that is sent from one device to another. This means that no one can intercept or capture the data and information in the network without the right keys for decryption.

Immutability of stored data and records

This is one of the main ways internet of things can benefit from blockchain technology. Immutability is the key characteristic of blockchain technology which means that transactions and records that are stored on the blockchain cannot be altered, changed or manipulated. This increases the authenticity of the stored data and records.

For instance, a corporate office makes use of IoT accounting devices that processes and store financial records. Malicious actors can alter the records or manipulate the records for selfish reasons and purposes. As we all know, when there are records that has been altered, it can greatly cause big problems for the whole establishment or organization. With blockchain technology, records and data stored on IoT devices will be secured and cannot be altered or manipulated, increasing the authenticity of the records.