The Internet of Things: Privacy Concerns for the Self-Storage Industry
The internet is everywhere these days, not just on your computer or on your phone. Everyday household objects are becoming internet equipped. These are the “Internet of Things.” It can be as simple as a coffee pot that turns on when you program it to, or the smart TV in your living room. Households are predicted to have an average of 50 IoT devices by 2020. But this isn’t happening just at home. IoT technology has been a part of the self-storage industry for several years and is becoming standard in newer facilities. Internet of Things change the way daily tasks are accomplished.
Internet of Things
- Hands-free
- Programmable
- Automated
- Delocalized control
You may have seen TV commercials for security systems that allow you to turn on lights through the ease of an app or view a live feed coming from your surveillance cameras while you’re away on vacation. This type of technology is somewhat new to the average consumer but has been increasing in popularity commercially. The IoT makes life much simpler by granting you more control without physically having to be in front of the device to operate it. In industries like self-storage, there aren’t always a lot of employees on the premises. Having remote technology improves security and enables off-site control. A self-storage operator can pull out their smartphone and through an app choose to adjust the temperature, change lighting and open security gates. Hence, IoT technology is easy to monitor, turn devices on, and program at any time wherever the business owner or manager is.
Security
We are entering an era where almost anything will connect to the internet. This is the era of the Internet of Everything or IoE. Devices that connect to the internet can be at risk of being breached. Even if the object can’t browse the internet, the ability to connect and receive an update is enough for the device to be subject to a privacy invasion. As exciting and helpful as this new technology is, security will always remain a top concern. Hopefully, the future of the Internet of Everything will contain more advanced security settings. But for now, when using IoT, be sure to take proper security measures. Consequently, it is important for you to take time to review technology security issues with your self-storage clients to identify potential exposures.
