The Internet of Things (IoT) is a general term describing any device used
to collect data from the world around us and then share that data across
the Internet where the data can be intelligently processed to provide
information and services. This definition can be extended to an industrial
closed loop control system where data is acquired, coalesced with related
data, transmitted to an intelligent station, analyzed, and then acted upon
to influence the environment.
The technology consulting firm Gartner, Inc. forecasts that 20.4 billion
connected things will be in use worldwide by 2020. The total spending
on endpoints and services will reach nearly $3 trillion in 2020.1
They also forecast that worldwide spending on IoT security2 is expected to reach $3.1
billion by 2021. In a similar study, IDC Forecasts Worldwide Technology
Spending on the Internet of Things will experience a compound annual
growth rate (CAGR) of 13.6% over the 2017–2022 forecast period and reach
$1.2 trillion in 2022.3
The authors believe that IoT is a ripe field for not just securing the IoT
devices but also for innovations in secure system design, secure building
block technologies, and secure hardware and software development
practices that together turn the Internet of Things into the Secure Internet
of Things.