Internet of Things (IoT)

By Chintan Pathak Posted March 27, 2023 in Internet of Things, Practice Areas

IoT is a system that connected Computer devices, Objects and Digital Machines that are provide Unique IDs and ability to collect and exchange data in real time without interaction between human-to-human or human-to-computer. There are 7-10 billion connected with IoT devices.

Past years IoT has become one of the most important technologies. The following are some common uses for IoT:

  • Smart manufacturing
  • Connected assets and preventive and predictive maintenance
  • Smart power grids
  • Smart cities
  • Connected logistics
  • Smart digital supply chains

The Internet of Things area of the law relates to Internet-connected devices, from smartphones to thermostats, which may collect user data and conduct analytics.

Cyber Laws of Data protection and data security in India are in developing mode. Still there are only significant legislation being the Information Technology Act, 2000 (ITA) and Reasonable practices and procedures and sensitive personal data or information rules. 2011. The provisions relating to data protection of individual personal information are covered under the Information Technology Act, 2000 (“ITA”). the “Reasonable practices and procedures and sensitive personal data or information Rules, 2011” (“Rules”) issued under Section 43A of the ITA (as amended). Section 72 of the ITA, enunciates penalty for breach of the confidentiality and privacy of the data collected.

The Service provider can execute separate vendor agreements providing guidelines to protect “sensitive personal data or information” in accordance with the provisions of the Indian IT Act. The service provider needs to strike the right balance concerning the “allocation of risk”. This is particularly vital in order to set the limitation of liability for the service provider in the event of breach of data privacy and non-disclosure requirements.

The IoT service provider, being the data controller would essentially determine the scope, extent, manner and purpose of the use of the personal data, whereas the service provider may have different third-party data processors, functioning to process the data on the instance and under the control of data controller.

There are some major IoT challenges.

  • Security / Personnel Safety: User data could be vulnerable, People’s Personnel Safety, Poor Security Features
  • Privacy: Could be tracked / monitored by anyone because you are connected with internet 24×7
  • Data Extraction from complex environments:
  • Connectivity: Requirement of wired and wireless connectivity, Usage Frequency.
  • Power Requirements: All the IoT devices need power. Most of them are battery operated.
  • Complexity Involved: needs lots of different domains, limited expertise in market, need toolkits / software / hardware awareness.
  • Storage: Cloud is mandatory.

Keywords: IoT Challenges, Digital Machine, IoT Legal Compliance, IoT Service Provider