Introducing smart infrastructure, like smart homes, smart cities, and even smart transportation, etc., has brought unparalleled convenience to people. The aspect of evolving technology is primarily shaping the world.
However, this digital transformation comes with a pressing concern – privacy. According to PIA’s blog post, we get a closer look into how privacy concerns shape the facets of urban monitoring systems. But the question is, “Is every smart infrastructure offering the same level of privacy and security?”
To answer your question, we will look into all the potential challenges and solutions associated with the advent of smart infrastructure and related privacy concerns.
Challenges to Privacy in Smart Infrastructure
Before we take a closer look into the solutions, we first need to address the common challenges to privacy that come with the establishment of smart infrastructure.
Data Over Collection
The biggest privacy issues come with how brands collect data, often more than necessary. For instance, a fitness tracker might monitor not just steps but location, heart rate, and sleep patterns, creating a comprehensive but invasive profile of the user.
Issues with Data Encryption
Continuing on the data issues, weak data encryption is another common challenge. So, when there is a third-party security breach, the lack of encryption often exposes sensitive data to the cyberthreats.
Lack of Transparency
One of the biggest issues with smart infrastructure and its adoption is how the users are often blindsided by the data these companies collect. It is not just the data collection process; users are also not aware of how this data is processed, who has access to their data, etc. In short, the issue stems from vague privacy policies.
Cybersecurity Threats
The lingering and ongoing cybersecurity threats seem to be a significant challenge due to the smart infrastructure integration. A breach in a smart city’s traffic management system, for example, could lead to chaos, while a hacked home security system could expose personal lives to cyber criminals.
Data Monetization
Companies often monetize the data they collect from smart devices, further selling them to advertisers and third parties, completely violating people’s privacy rights. This also raises a lot of concerns regarding ethics and data ownership.
Solutions to Address Privacy Concerns
Now that you have a better idea about the common challenges of smart infrastructure and its impacts on privacy understanding the solutions is quintessential, too.
Following are a few solutions that should be in place to address these challenges:
- Since data misuse is one of the main challenges, ensuring optimal data encryption should be a mandatory step in every smart infrastructure system. End-to-end encryption is not just a mere need, it is a want.
- Privacy should be a foundational aspect of smart infrastructure development. This mainly means integrating privacy measures into the system design directly.
- Giving users more power over their data is a necessity. This includes ensuring 100% transparency with the privacy policies and being open about how the user data is being used, who has access to it, and its fate.
- Smart infrastructure systems must adopt multi-layered cybersecurity measures. This, in turn, reduces the risks of cybersecurity threats and data breaches, which have become very common otherwise.
- Companies should adopt ethical data practices, prioritizing user privacy over profit. Initiatives such as zero-knowledge architecture ensure that even the service provider cannot access user data.
Final Words
The need for privacy and smart infrastructure should not be mutually exclusive. They should be able to co-exist in harmony. While users enjoy the benefits of technological reforms, they shouldn’t worry about their personal data and other sensitive information being blasted on the internet. Understanding the challenges and mitigating them with the right solutions is thus something every company should adhere to.
