Privacy and security are the two biggest challenges to monetizing internet of things (IoT) applications, according to a new global survey of developers, which claims that many feel they don’t have the skills or resources to deliver on expectations.
Harbor Research polled over 670 app developers from the US, UK, Germany, France, Sweden, Netherlands and India on behalf of software company Progress.
It found the two biggest challenges they face in making money out of IoT apps are data privacy and protection from attack (18%) and security and personal privacy (18%).
However, few had faith in the government (8%) or industry bodies (7%) to help them overcome these challenges.
Instead, most believed that commercial vendors (31%) and the open source community (21%) offered the best chance of success going forward.
This is despite deep seated concerns in the information security industry that, on the commercial side at least, products are usually rushed out into the market with little heed for potential security flaws.
Still, the developer community was almost split 50:50 over whether the regulation would positively (39%) or negatively (34%) affect IoT app development.
It’s also clear from the report that many don’t feel they have the right blend of tech or skills.
Half of respondents said they ‘don’t have’ or are ‘unsure’ if they have the right technology to deliver on expectations, while 51% felt the same way about having the necessary skills and resources.
In addition, 45% said they didn’t think they had the skills to gather, analyze and use contextual data from IoT sensors.
Several reports have already highlighted the security vulnerabilities that already exist in many IoT products.
HP reported last year that 10 of the most common IoT technologies contained a staggering 25 flaws per device, for example.
A month later, Eurecom research revealed zero days, backdoors and other holes in over 140,000 devices which could lead to them being compromised.