💡 IoT Insights - 2/4/2020

Edited by Jeb Su, Principal Analyst at Atherton Research

Here’s everything you need to know today — in 5 minutes or less — about the world’s most important news in IoT.

HEADLINES

Top News:

1. French Company Kinéis Raises 100M Euro to Finance IoT Constellation

Analysis:

1. Why IoT Needs Edge Computing to Realize Its Full Potential

2. Wary U.S. Doctors May Block the Rise of Smart Hospitals

Connectivity:

1. IoT Researchers Propose Lag-Free Networking Solution

2. Murata Debuts “World's Smallest LoRa Module”

3. Semtech Releases LoRa Device for IoT-Enabled Smart-Home Applications

CyberSecurity:

1. A backdoor mechanism still active in devices using Huawei’s HiSilicon chips

2. New research shows how easily LoRaWAN smart devices networks can be hacked

3. NICE Specification Announces Foray Into Cloud Platform Service for IoTs and IP Cameras

4. Amazon Ups Alexa Voice Service Security Requirements

5. Is Connectivity Making Industrial Cybersecurity More Vulnerable?

Smart Home:

1. The 5 Biggest Smart Home Trends In 2020

2. Should I get a smart lock? The pros and cons of going digital on your door

3. Miracle Machines That Will Let You Cook an Entire Meal in One Device

4. Google Assistant Smart Displays: Everything you need to know

5. Parks Associates: 29% of US Broadband Households Plan to Purchase a Smart Thermostat in 2020

Smart City, Transportation, Infrastructure:

1. NTT to use the experience gained in Las Vegas for smart city PoC in Malaysia

2. What a Smart City Is… and Is Not

Industry 4.0:

1. Industry 4.0 Adoption 2020 – who is ahead?

2. Agriculture Victoria to trial IoT technology on farms

3. Industrial Cybersecurity Needs Broad & Deep OT/IoT Threat Visibility

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Top News:

1. Kinéis Raises 100M Euro to Finance IoT Constellation
   French IoT connectivity provider has raised 100 million euros. Investors include Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS), French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), Bpifrance via the fund for Industrial Project Companies (SPI), financed by the “Investments for the Future” program and the European Investment Bank (EIB), Ifremer, Thales, Celad, BNP Paribas Développement, Hemeria, and other industrial and financial partners.

Analysis:

1. Why IoT Needs Edge Computing to Realize Its Full Potential
   The future for IoT is looking brighter than ever, with businesses poised to realize immense value from harnessing the power of their data to generate actionable insights. This will be enabled in large part by edge computing, which solves many of the challenges that delayed the full arrival of IoT. While we might not have reached 50 billion devices at this point in 2020, it’s clear that a huge addressable market exists for this technology and that the number of deployments will continue to rapidly increase in the years to come.

2. Wary U.S. Doctors May Block the Rise of Smart Hospitals
   The global smart hospital market, which encompasses medical devices interconnected through the Internet of Things (IoT), together with medical applications of A.I. and machine learning, is by one estimate expected to reach $55.76 billion by 2023. These smart devices include surgical tools that give real-time feedback to the operator, a sensor-equipped feeding system for premature babies, and even the wearables patients walk into hospitals with. These technologies have vast potential to streamline workflow for already overburdened doctors and nurses, but there’s one big problem: Medical professionals are conflicted about whether to trust them.

Connectivity:

1. IoT Researchers Propose Lag-Free Networking Solution
   To reduce the risk of lag, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have proposed a system that would give IoT devices a side channel to avoid slowdowns.

2. Murata Debuts “World's Smallest LoRa Module”
   Measuring at 10.0 mm x 8.0 mm x 1.6 mm, Murata’s new LoRaWAN module combines the critical elements of size, range, and security along with low power and low price essential for high volume devices.

3. Semtech Releases LoRa Device for IoT-Enabled Smart-Home Applications
   Semtech is adding to its LoRa portfolio with the LoRa Smart Home, as LoRa is becoming a fast-growing low-power network. As the name implies, it’s intended for smart-home applications that can take advantage of LoRa’s low power and lower bandwidth. The Smart Home includes a transceiver that provides low power, broad coverage for indoor, and neighborhood area IoT devices connecting to sensors and actuators for safety, environmental, and convenience use cases. 

CyberSecurity:

1. A backdoor mechanism still active in devices using Huawei’s HiSilicon chips
   The researcher said he did not notify HiSilicon due to a lack of trust in the hardware vendor to adequately fix the issue.

2. New research shows how easily LoRaWAN smart devices networks can be hacked
   A new research paper from IOActive has found a host of cybersecurity issues in the LoRaWAN protocol that could put network users at risk of attacks and warned of widespread disruption and even risk to life could occur in some extreme cases. The study found the root keys usually used for encrypting communications between devices, gateways, and network servers are poorly protected most of the time and are easily obtainable through different methods by malicious hackers who may use these keys to send false data and conduct denial of service attacks.

3. NICE Specification Announces Foray Into Cloud Platform Service for IoTs and IP Cameras
   The current security practice for IoT devices is limited to a controlled encryption focus between a given IoT device and the Cloud. IoT devices, and specifically integrating image sensors, generate very sensitive video image data stored and processed in the cloud and on mobile devices. Existing solutions do not address who and what can access and process sensitive data once it has reached the cloud. 

4. Amazon Ups Alexa Voice Service Security Requirements
   Amazon has updated the minimum security requirements for devices using Alexa Voice Service (AVS). The new rules set out what manufacturers need to include in their products to be able to access the Alexa voice assistant. The updates include combining all of the AVS software development kits for the first time, including Alexa Smart Screen and Alexa Auto.

5. Is Connectivity Making Industrial Cybersecurity More Vulnerable?
   Previously, industries relied on programmable logic controllers (PLCs) to control their machinery which had limited connectivity outside facilities. Today, sensors and robots are connecting directly to the Internet, allowing them to readily send and receive data, or be remotely controlled raising cybersecurity concerns.

Smart Home:

1. The 5 Biggest Smart Home Trends In 2020
   Smart homes are the domestic face of the Internet of Things (IoT). In recent years we’ve become increasingly used to connecting everyday devices in our homes to the internet and to each other to make the places we live more comfortable, economical, entertaining, and safe.

2. Should I get a smart lock? The pros and cons of going digital on your door
   For those looking for a convenient way to monitor whether they remembered to lock up their home, smarter latches are an easy sell. They work with smartphones that most of us have, and you can program them to identify your best friend and let them in without you having to leave your seat. Some have keypads with long security codes for when you don't have your smartphone or short-range Bluetooth signals that can pick up when you're nearby.

3. Miracle Machines That Will Let You Cook an Entire Meal in One Device
   Home chefs have never had it better. From touchscreen-infused fridges to Wi-Fi-connected wine coolers, there’s no area of the kitchen that has gone untouched by smart home technology. But the best offerings—from the home chef’s perspective—may be the proliferation of multi-cooker devices, gadgets that allow owners to prepare entire meals in a single machine.

4. Google Assistant Smart Displays: Everything you need to know
   Here's a guide to everything you need to know about Google's Smart Displays: what they do, who's built them, and why you might one.

5. 29% of U.S. Broadband Households Plan to Purchase a Smart Thermostat in 2020
   Parks Associates research finds 29% of US broadband households plan to purchase a smart thermostat in 2020 and 13% of broadband households currently own a smart thermostat. Consumers are also showing more interest in automated energy programs, as 42% of current smart thermostat owners would allow a utility to adjust their device in order to save energy.

Smart City, Transportation, Infrastructure:

1. NTT to use the experience gained in Las Vegas for smart city PoC in Malaysia
   Japan’s NTT Group aims to launch what it claims to be one of Asia’s first smart city proofs-of-concept (PoC) in the city of Cyberjaya, in Malaysia, this month. Through this smart city PoC, NTT Group aims to establish a sustainable business model while verifying the possibility of solving social issues in Asia, utilizing the technologies and know-how accumulated in the smart city field in the United States.

2. What a Smart City Is… and Is Not
   Between 2005 and 2008, either Cisco or IBM coined the term “Smart City”, kicking off more than a decade of confusion. It seems that no one can agree on who founded the movement, a singular definition, or even if people like the term at all.  To add to the mayhem, projects, and programs are often mislabeled “Smart City” without having all of the components required.

Industry 4.0:

1. Industry 4.0 Adoption 2020 – who is ahead?
   Less than 30% of manufacturers reported extensive adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies according to IoT Analytics’ latest 286-page Industry 4.0 & Smart Manufacturing Adoption Report, published in January 2020, with North America clearly leading Europe and Asia.

2. Agriculture Victoria to trial IoT technology on farms
   NNNCo, an Australian IoT network provider, will work with Agriculture Victoria to provide network connectivity to trial sites in the Maffra, Tatura, Serpentine and Birchip regions. The long-range network will allow thousands of sensors to be connected to the internet, providing real-time data for farmers to improve their on-farm productivity, efficiency, and sustainability.

3. Industrial Cybersecurity Needs Broad & Deep OT/IoT Threat Visibility
   Cybersecurity has never been more challenging for industrial organizations. Recent attacks on critical safety systems have shown that conventional defenses can’t stop sophisticated attackers. In addition, deployments of unmanaged IoT devices are expanding attack surfaces. Increased connectivity between IT, OT, Cloud, and third-party systems is creating more ways for attackers to pivot into critical systems. Defending them against these new vulnerabilities is both critical and challenging, as these developments can arise without warning.  

💡 IoT Insights is an Atherton Research publication