“With its move to open up near field communication (NFC) support for developers in iOS 11, Apple just opened up to the most significant moment in the birth of the Internet of Things (IoT),” Jonny Evans writes for Computerworld.
“Hilton Hotels says the smartphone-based unlocking system it has been using at (now) 1,700 hotels across the U.S. and Canada has been used 11 million times without being breached once, reports The Financial Times,” Evans writes. “That’s significant because it suggests some of the security problems that impacted first-generation connected IoT devices are being worked out.”
“At Hilton Hotels, the door lock system isn’t exclusively iOS-based, but instead uses NFC. This is significant because Apple at WWDC 2017 announced that iOS 11 will allow developers to create apps that can read NFC tags using a framework called Core NFC,” Evans writes. “What is happening here is that at a key stage of industry development, Apple has managed to create a highly secure IoT ecosystem (HomeKit) and opened up a door (with NFC support) that enables developers to begin to truly realize the potential of connected solutions in daily life.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We’d love to see HomeKit-enabled IoT devices finally begin to rapidly proliferate!
Nothing is as secure as Apple HomeKit. Not even close.
Home automation is still in its infancy, but Apple is already teaming with large homebuilders, including Brookfield Residential, KB Home, Lennar Homes and R&F Properties, which are now integrating many HomeKit devices into new homes. – MacDailyNews, May 31, 2017
SEE ALSO:
Here are all the devices that are compatible with Apple’s HomeKit – May 31, 2017
How to configure your 4th-gen Apple TV as a HomeKit hub – January 10, 2017
The best products for building a smart home with Apple’s HomeKit – November 10, 2016
DDoS attack: Apple’s HomeKit for a safer smarthome – October 24, 2016
Honeywell unveils Apple HomeKit-compatible Lyric T5 Wi-Fi thermostat – September 27, 2016
Google’s flaky Nest thermostat shakes users’ trust in the Internet of Things – January 19, 2016
Google’s Nest thermostat bug leaves users cold, angry – January 14, 2016
Honeywell announces ‘Lyric Round’ smart thermostat with Apple HomeKit integration – January 5, 2016
Apple HomeKit-compatible thermostat Ecobee closes in on Google’s Nest – September 28, 2015
Apple pulls Google’s Nest thermostat from stores with launch of HomeKit-compatible Ecobee 3 – July 23, 2015
First Apple-certified HomeKit-compliant devices launch – June 2, 2015
Google engineer trashes Tony Fadell’s precious Nest smoke alarm – February 19, 2015
With HomeKit and Honeywell’s Lyric, a Nest acquisition by Apple would have been foolish – June 18, 2014
Will Apple’s Internet of Things vision hurt a beautiful idea? With HomeKit, Apple promises easy home automation – June 6, 2014
Smart thermostat war heats up as Apple-partner Honeywell takes aim at Google’s Nest – June 13, 2014
Honeywell takes dead aim at Google’s Nest with new iPhone-compatible Lyric smart thermostat – June 10, 2014
Google to SEC: We could serve ads on thermostats, refrigerators, car dashboards, and more – May 21, 2014
Dead to me: Apple’s Schiller ‘unfollows’ Tony Fadell and Nest after Google acquisition – January 18, 2014
Do not resist: Borg is the future unfolding now.
“That’s significant because it suggests some of the security problems that impacted first-generation connected IoT devices are being worked out.”
I was at a cyber-security conference at American University a few months ago, and the keynote address dealt with the security implications and vulnerabilities associated with an Internet of Things – smart refrigerators, light bulbs, and the like. It wasn’t a reassuring talk. Just in recent weeks I read about a denial of service attack utilizing hijacked IoT devices.
Yes and you should not be reassured and should absolutely vet any connected device you choose to put into your homes, as I’ve been warning since 2014. However, Apple’s ecosystem has much more to recommend it on security terms, but this early stage technology needs to be handled with conscious and educated care.
I worry about the unanticipated consequences of these technologies. If my smart bathroom scale ever tells my smart kitchen refrigerator to lock me out, that’s going to be a problem.
For Apple, it’s the Internet of Dings.
“I want to put a ding in the universe.” — Steve Jobs,
Or the internet of Pings. 😛 Just because Apple jumped on board doesn’t mean it’ll go anywhere. I still think IOT is a big nothing, personally.