Maintaining The Integrity Of IoT Applications

Data integrity and reliability problems threaten to defeat the purpose of using intelligent and connected IoT networks.

Therefore, employing the right tools and measures is imperative for maintaining data integrity in IoT networks.

IoT is so ubiquitous today that most smart city dwellers may encounter, at the very least, three to four smart, connected devices or applications even before their day has begun in earnest. Smart speakers, smart health wearables, smartwatches, smart thermometers, smartphones, and computer vision-based CCTV cameras are a part of almost everybody’s lives in smart cities today. Also, the utility of IoT-based devices is not limited to just smart cities. IoT networks are designed to endlessly collect data for detailed analysis, forecasts, and decision-making. Therefore, the need for this data to be accurate, consistent, constantly updated, and complete is critical for the massive global population that uses IoT-based devices in one way or another. Here are some of the ways with which the data integrity in IoT networks can be consistently maintained.

Using Edge Data Analytics for IoT Networks

Even though data capturing sensors, applications and devices are scattered everywhere, transferring large amounts of data through a widespread IoT network can still be a cumbersome affair. Transferring a terabyte of data through a 10 MBPS broadband network can take about nine days. Additionally, there are always risks of data manipulation, distortion, loss, or breach during transmission via a large IoT network spread over vast distances. To overcome this problem, businesses or smart city public agencies can implement edge AI, IoT, and computing tools for more bringing analytics closer to the data collection sources. Edge IoT analytics necessitate the use of lightweight software to enable the low-powered IoT nodes and gateways to capture data and perform query processing with precision. Additionally, the use of edge AI will facilitate faster analysis of data.

Most importantly, the use of edge IoT analytics safeguards the collected data from manipulation, loss, and breaches.

Updating IoT Devices and Networks Regularly

Regular usage can take its toll on heavily-used IoT devices over a period. Therefore, such devices must be regularly updated and patched to keep their performance and reliability consistently high. Regular updates enable businesses and smart city public agencies to maintain the scalability and data security of sensitive IoT networks. From a cybersecurity point of view, regular patching keeps IoT devices and data protected against new cyber threats.

Data consistency, coherence, and security are among the primary reasons for implementing IoT. By employing the measures listed above, the data integrity in IoT networks can be maintained seamlessly.