IoT offers unprecedented benefits. Cisco Systems estimates it
represents a $19T global economic opportunity. Certainly US companies would
like a healthy share of that. By connecting a plethora of previously
non-connected devices, IoT also provides unparalleled potential for broad-scale
research across many domains – medical, agricultural, energy, transportation, and
environmental—the possibilities are vast. IoT is integral to the growth of
connected Smart Cities, where we hold visions of things like intelligent
traffic light management and parking meters to relieve mounting congestion. With
consumer-based applications, the possibilities are virtually endless, connecting
everything from your car to your refrigerator, your thermostat, your
television, your bed, your keys, and your fitness devices.
In 2010 I founded a think tank, the Center for Public Policy
Innovation (CPPI), dedicated to building collaboration between the public and
private sectors on emerging technologies.
For several years, CPPI has been working to educate Congress on the
opportunities and challenges surrounding IoT, and Members and their staff are
listening.
In April, CPPI hosted a briefing
and panel discussion on Capitol Hill for congressional staff entitled Internet of Everything: Trucks, Tractors,
Training and Jobs. Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-49), Co-Chair
of the newly formed Congressional Internet of Things Caucus, addressed the
standing room only crowd eager to learn more about IoT technology and what
role, if any, public policy will play.
Chairman Issa stressed the need for more education among lawmakers to
better understand the policy implications of these innovations and to provide
Congress with the tools and knowledge they need to best promote economic
prosperity and protect public safety.
“[As congressional staff] you
have to get smarter than your Members on new technologies, like the Internet of
Things,” said Issa. “A few of us get credit
for being ‘used-to-be’s’ when it comes to new technologies, but the rapid rate
of technological change is outpacing our
knowledge and it’s a struggle to keep up.
We need industry’s help to ensure that we know the issues and we don’t
screw things up.”
Panelist Thomas Lehner, VP of Public Policy at the Motor and
Equipment Manufacturers Association, revealed that the ability to “cede control”
to new vehicles will be operational by 2020. From a public policy perspective,
will we be ready for self-driving cars in 5 years?
Don Hoffman, Chief Innovation Officer of Montgomery County,
MD commented that “there is not one local public sector function which will not
be disrupted by IoT.” By example, he showcased
the County’s Senior Living Facility which remotely examines air and water
quality at senior living centers as part of a living lab.
While such examples are promising, we are currently in the
hype phase of the IoT adoption curve. For one thing, there are significant technology
gaps to be overcome, and a lack of standards to do so. Manufacturers of the
many sensor technologies that permit a device’s Internet Protocol (IP)
connection are focused on their own proprietary technologies. At present, there
is no industry body advancing a standards movement. Progressively, the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has launched formal discussion of
a Framework for Cyber-Physical Systems (that’s a fancy term for IoT) standards,
in hopes of shaping early on an IoT ecosystem that is interoperable and secure.
NIST anticipates publishing those standards some time in 2016, but adoption
will be optional.
The gathering and analysis of voluminous data through “connected
everything” is where the true payoff lies. At CPPI’s April forum, Cisco
projected growth of connected devices from a current 15 billion to 50 billion
by 2020. Big Data analysis from those 50 billion devices will be of interest to
myriad private and public sector entities. Automated analytics capabilities have
now significantly advanced to crunching not only traditional structured data
(think rows and columns) but also voluminous and growing unstructured data
coming through images, video, social media posts, and the like. The
cross-referencing of that information is the font from where new revelations
will come. Some will be generalized; others may be personally identifiable.
At the moment, the standards gap and a shortage of skilled
talent somewhat limit the breadth of Big Data analysis, but there are very real
applications already in place. For instance, the National Institutes of Health
are offering a new portal enabling researchers to collaborate on highly
specialized data related to patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Schools are
skilling-up the workforce of tomorrow as quickly as possible, but it does take some
time to gain both education and experience. Expect Big Data analytics to evolve
and grow rapidly as a capable workforce develops.
Spectrum accessibility also comes into play. All of the data
from connected devices must travel over the internet to its points of curation;
much of it will travel via wireless transmission. Careful management of
spectrum allocation is critical to keep all those connections flowing.
The
two biggest areas of IoT concern involve data privacy and cyber security. A
plethora of connected devices continually tracking user data in real time equals
a dragnet of information being collected. The issue of personal privacy fills
current headlines and is a huge concern. But consider also the implications of generating data that precisely
reveals the location of dismounted soldiers in combat, the specific timing and
location of municipal buses en route, safe campus video monitoring, or public
health threat information, if any of that falls into the wrong hands.
NIST
has gone so far as to call IoT indefensible. When everything is connected, there is no network perimeter
and every point of connection is a point vulnerable to attack. For example, the
massive November 2013 breach of Target Stores’ customer data resulted from
back-door entry via their HVAC control system. Manufacturers of traditionally
unconnected devices must now turn their attention to IP security – an issue
most manufacturers probably have never contemplated. What they collect, about
whom, where they store the collected data, and what they do with it, is a new
frontier of opportunity and responsibility.
The foundations of federal involvement are beginning to emerge.
In February of this year, U.S. Representatives Issa and Suzan Del Bene (WA-1) formed
a Congressional Caucus on IoT to promote Member education. In late July a House Judiciary Committee
hearing on IoT organized by the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, witnesses and Members discussed the benefits and risks of IoT. Congressman Issa said he
looks forward to a series of IoT hearings, an increasingly important dialogue
as more and more IoT devices come to market.
In March, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan
resolution introduced by Senator Deb Fischer (NE) to promote IoT for economic
growth and consumer benefit. The resolution was strongly backed by three other
Senators who had sponsored the first hearing on IoT in response to a detailed IoT
report published by the Federal Trade Commission in January. This initial
leadership must be applauded, but the conversation and learning need to advance
quickly.
In June, Members of the bipartisan Congressional IoT Caucus
including U.S. Sen. Fischer, and fellow
U.S. Senators Cory Booker (NJ), Brian Schatz (HI) and Kelly Ayotte (NH), requested
that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) determine the impact IoT
technology has on the U.S. economy and end users. In a letter to GAO
Comptroller General Gene Dorado, the Senators said they want to know if federal
agencies already use the technology, and to coordinate IoT oversight as it is
deployed within the government.
The senators also
asked GAO to examine ways the platform can affect the privacy and security of
consumer information and whether usage will lead to spectrum capacity opportunities
and limitations. In addition, the Senators asked the agency to determine
changes in federal law to better manage IoT.
The time is right for true public-private partnership to
advance the IoT opportunity in a responsible way that balances the tremendous
economic and social opportunity coming from IoT innovation with prudent restraint.
CPPI encourages proactive engagement between our Congressional leaders and the
tech community to ensure thoughtful policy that strengthens the hand of
American industry while respecting our citizens’ rights and security.
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