Comparison of Existing Communication Technologies for IoT

Internet of thing is one of the advanced generations in the area information and communication technology which is used in many industries such as medical, urban development, and many more [1]. In which things connected with the physical devices with the help of internet connectivity and it uses wireless technologies to share data or information from one location to another without using any connecting wires. The goal of this report is to discuss the security relates issues and challenged faced by the internet of thing and various kinds of technologies used by the IoT during the communication process with their specification. This report is divided into main four parts for example; comparison of existing communication technologies for IoT, the network performance of the communication technologies, security and privacy issues in this technique and propose a communication technology.

In the last five years information technology developed numerous communication protocols or technologies which are used by the internet of thing to send and receive data which are described below:

• Bluetooth low energy
• Zigbee
• Z-wave
• 6LoWPAN
• Wi-Fi
• LTE
• RFID

BLE is a part of Bluetooth technology which is developed for transmitting small information or data from one location to another. Mainly, it is used for low-level communication purpose which takes very less power during data transmission. It uses the ISM band which is centred at 2.4 GHz frequency and it uses the Gaussian frequency shift key modulation technique to modulate the input signals [2]. The data rate of this communication technology is around 25 Mbps which is very low as compared to Wi-Fi and other technologies and the range of operation is between 10 and 30 meter. ZigBee is defined as a short range communication protocol which is used for embedded devices and LAN networks to share and receive data. It operates in 915 MHz frequency range and provides around 225Mbps data rate to their consumer which is very high as compared to the Bluetooth networks. It also works on the ISM band but it uses the OQPSK modulation technique to shift the phase of the input signal [3].

Z-wave us a low energy RF technology that works in the GHz frequency range and it can be used for home automation, security and appliances controlling purpose. It is observed that Z-wave operates on 900 mega Hz frequency and provide around 100 Kbit/s data rate by which user can send or receive a signal from one building to another. 6LoWPAN is an advanced communication technology which works on the principle of ISM radio channels and mainly such kind of technology is used by IoT to control and monitor the home appliances.

Security and Privacy Issues in IoT

It uses the amplitude shift key modulation technique that changes the amplitude of the input signal according to the carrier signal. Wi-Fi is defined as the wireless fidelity which is very less secure as compared to Bluetooth, ZigBee and other communication technology but the operational range is very high (160 fits) [4]. The frequency range of this wireless technology is between 2.4 GHz and 60 GHz but it is not stable due to which it cannot be used for industrial applications. RFID is a very popular technology which is used by IoT to control and monitor the communication system between transmitter and receiver. It is a more efficient network protocol that has the potential to send data over long distance and it is operated in low frequency and high frequency. It uses the QAM modulation technique which is one of the advanced approaches to enhance the strength of the input signal by which the receiver can receive the proper output signal.

It is evaluated that the LTE and RFID both are very common communication technologies used by the internet of thing because of their performance and security. Bluetooth is a very old communication technology which is better for small communication channel but for long distance communication, it cannot be used. To avoid this issue the information technology developed several network protocols like Zigbee, LTE, and 6LoWPAN but the main problem faced by these technologies are security and privacy issues [5].

A recent study observed that the use of long term evaluation technology has increased by 45% in last two years because of their few advantages like, more efficient, high frequency range, large data rate and can be used for long distance communication. ZigBee is an advanced version of Bluetooth which is based on the IEEE802.15.4 which is operating at 2.4 GHz frequency that can be used for home or building purpose. It is low power consumption technology which is completely based on the M2M concept and mainly it is used in IoT for small computer networks. It is identified that most engineering projects are controlled by the IoT technology which uses the Zigbee protocol for communication purpose [6].

Z-wave is a low power radio frequency network which is designed for home appliances such as a lamp, ac, and fan controllers. The data rate of this technology is around 100 Kbit per second which is enough for small and medium computer networks and IoT uses this technique to design and implement the network system for buildings and companies [7]. Therefore, the overall performance can be evaluated by using these communication networks in daily life and IOT combine things with physical devices for which they required the high level technology by which they can control their system from any location. In terms of security, the LTE and RFID both are more accurate and private but they are very slow as compare to the wired communication technology.

Proposed Communication Technology and Security Solutions

There are numerous kinds of security related issues faced by the internet of thing technologies which are described below:

It is one of the biggest security issue faced by the internet of thing technology because hackers use the malicious and botnet process to develop the unauthentic servers. Due to which consumers can lose their personal data files or information and IoT uses internet connectivity for communication purpose by which attackers can easily enter into their system [8].

Such kind of issue occurs due to lack of security and using third party application because many attackers transfer the unwanted signals on the networks of consumers. A recent study evaluated that hacker’s attacks on the computer networks used by IoT and enter into their personal system to block their information [9]. With the help of this issue, people and companies can suffer from the financial problems and hacker encrypts their private details by using botnet technique.

It is a very common type of security issue which is growing rapidly and criminals use the malicious process to produce a large number of traffic signals [12]. Malicious is a type of software that has the potential to collect the personal information of users account like login ID and password. It is observed that many hackers transfer the unwanted signals or messages to consumers through Gmail and user click on these fraud links by which they can lose their privacy and security.

Malware is a kind of software which is used by hackers to design and implement the huge amount of traffic signals, unwanted links and many more. Mainly, attackers use this approach to identify and collect the personal details of their accounts like login id and password after that they enter into their system. Internet of thing is facing such an issue and a recent investigation identified that the rate of malware attack has increased by 45% in the last five years due to lack of security [10].

Wi-Fi is one of the best communication technologies for the internet of thing enables the device in a home network because it has the potential to interconnect two or more peripheral devices at a time. it is a part of wireless communication technology which is used by IoT technology for home appliances and networks [11]. The frequency band of this technology is around 2.4 GHz ISM that uses the direct sequence spread spectrum technique during the communication process. The range of operation of the Wi-Fi network is around 50 meter which is enough for home networks and the maximum data rate of this technology is around 54 Mbps. Therefore, the Wi-Fi communication technology can be adopted for the home networks due to their few benefits such as more efficient, very secure large bandwidth and reduce distortion and losses.

Conclusion

Internet of this is very best information technology that provides a platform to interconnect things with a physical device like computers, mobiles and other peripheral devices. it is analysed the rate of IoT technology has increased by 35% in between 2014 and 2016 but security is one of the biggest concern faced by IoT. This report described the concept of the internet of thing, types of communication technologies and security related issues faced by this technique. People should ensure that they use only authentic networks during communication and they can adopt the advanced security systems like firewall, encryption, cryptography and many more to handle security issues.

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