<div>In the age of the Internet of Things (IoT), it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain control over data. This data is what fuels many business operations. With so many connected devices, personal information is being collected and shared in ways people may not even be aware of. But it is the duty of businesses who collect and use this data to ensure privacy and security. This article will discuss how to regain control of your data in a connected IoT world, providing strategies and tips for securing your data.</div><h2>The World of IoT</h2><div><div>In the modern world, the Internet of Things (IoT) has become commonplace in our lives. Currently, there are around <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1183457/iot-connected-devices-worldwide/">11.28 billion IoT devices</a> used. According to Statista, the numbers are expected to increase to 29.42 billion by 2030. Moreover, IDC predicts that IoT devices will generate around <a href="https://blogs.idc.com/2021/01/06/future-of-industry-ecosystems-shared-data-and-insights/">80B zettabytes of data by 2025</a>.</div></div><div><br></div><div><div>The number of IoT devices keeps growing exponentially, from smart home devices to connected cars and speakers to smart home devices. Hence, it's becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of the data that is being collected and shared. This lack of transparency throughout the IoT data ecosystem can lead to breaches. Thus, the number of data breaches is increasing with the number of connected IoT devices. In fact, a CNET article states that data breaches <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/privacy/record-number-of-data-breaches-reported-in-2021-new-report-says/">rose by 68% year-over-year</a> in 2021.</div></div><div><br></div><div><div>Fortunately, there are steps you can take to take back control of your data and protect your privacy. You can leverage several technologies to ensure the privacy and security of IoT data, and one such technology is blockchain.</div></div><h2>The Blockchain Breakthrough</h2><div><div>Blockchain technology is a revolutionary way of securely storing and sharing data in a decentralized manner. It is a distributed ledger technology that uses cryptographic techniques to store data securely and transparently. The same technology facilitates all cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and others.</div><div><br>Using a computer network, each transaction is recorded and stored in a public ledger, making it virtually impossible to alter or delete. This makes blockchain technology an ideal solution for ensuring transparency in various industries, as it allows for the secure and transparent transfer of data between multiple parties.</div><div><br>Furthermore, blockchain technology can be used to verify the authenticity of data, making it a powerful tool for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of data. Using blockchain technology, businesses can ensure that their data is secure and transparent, allowing them to build trust with their customers.</div><div><br>Many such blockchain ledgers exist for gathering, storing, and sharing IoT data on a transparent digital ledger. For example, there's Helium. This decentralized machine network uses blockchain to link internet-connected low-power IoT devices (such as routers and microchips) to one another.</div><div><br>Similarly, there's also IoTA. IoTA is another company that uses blockchain networks for facilitating temper-proof data and quick transactions. IoTA also has an Industry Marketplace for automated trading of industrial IoT data, goods, and services through smart contracts. Likewise, there's also IoTeX, SmartAxiom, UBIRCH, Grid+, and many more. You can develop and leverage a similar blockchain network for storing and sharing your IoT data transparently.</div><div><br>Such a blockchain network can help with the seamless and transparent sharing of data for continuous business operations. Moreover, since the data will be stored on a decentralized network, it will also become extremely secure, meaning your IoT data will remain out of reach of cyber attackers.</div><div><br>Consider an example of a logistics company. Logistics companies delivering food or pharmaceutical containers must maintain a certain temperature limit. IoT sensors can help monitor the temperatures. But by using blockchain here, logistics companies can share temperature data gathered by IoT sensors efficiently and securely. Moreover, the quick blockchain transactions will also ensure real-time data sharing. This means the data IoT sensors collect will not have to go through multiple servers to reach your systems. You can also track other such IoT data with blockchain. For instance, the <a href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/internet-of-things/industrial-iot/logistics/connected-logistics-platform-study.html">Oregon-based Curry &amp; Company</a> uses IoT with blockchain for its product inspection, processing, inventory, environment, and other data, leading to a streamlined logistics network.</div></div><h2>Know Your IoT Devices</h2><div><div>Another thing to worry about for businesses is the originality of the data. Since data will be abundant, it becomes essential to trace the data to its source. For instance, suppose a company uses hundred IoT sensors to fetch data from a single machine. Now imagine that two or three of the 100 sensors malfunction simultaneously. This means that the data they gather will also be faulty. This can impair the insights you are trying to generate with the data. Hence, tracing back the IoT data to its source is vital to ensure that you can eliminate inaccurate data for better insights.</div><div><br>The data generated by IoT devices can provide valuable insights into the efficiency of the operations and the quality of the products being shipped. Knowing the data source can help the company make better decisions and improve its processes. Blockchain's traceability feature can help by allowing the company to trace the data back to its source. This helps the company ensure that the data is accurate and reliable and comes from the right source. With blockchain's traceability feature, the logistics company can gain greater visibility into their operations and make better decisions.</div></div><h2>Finding the Middle Ground</h2><div><div>Using IoT data is vital to ensure seamless business operations. However, if you do that, it is also essential to maintain optimal security. You cannot go with one and ignore the other. Hence, finding a middle ground is essential, and blockchain offers an excellent middle ground.</div><div><br>With blockchain technology, you can maintain a high level of IoT data ownership. Thus, you will get your customers' and stakeholders' trust that you have complete control and transparency over the data you collect and use for better services.</div></div><h2>Final Words</h2><div><div>IoT data security can seem challenging to ensure. However, businesses cannot afford to ignore it in this regard. The cost of missing this IoT revolution by not adopting it and the risk of losing data to cyber attacks is high. Businesses can find a middle ground and leverage IoT innovation and blockchain technology as we move into an era of ever-greater connectivity by taking control of their data.</div></div>

Kailash Vaviya

How to Take Back Control of Your Data in a Connected IoT World

Since Wilhelm Konrad Rontgen discovered the x-ray, many technological developments have occurred. Here are some of the studies done in enhancing x-ray imaging techniques.

New X-Ray Technique Could Help Detect Explosives, Tumors

<p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">One of the most remarkable advancements in medicine over the last century was the discovery of X-rays, allowing doctors to see inside the human body and diagnose diseases. Now, a team of researchers from the University College London (UCL) has found a way to harness the x-ray technique in a new and exciting manner that could help diagnose tumours and even detect dangerous materials, such as explosives.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">The AI algorithms used in the technique are extremely good at picking the explosives even when hidden under different items, says lead author Sandro Olivio, according to the&nbsp;</span><a style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank" href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/09/09/1059146/a-new-x-ray-technique-for-detecting-explosives-could-also-identify-tumors/" class="editor-rtfLink"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">article published on the MIT website</span></a><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">.&nbsp;</span></p><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true"><br></span></p><h2 style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">X-Ray Was One of the Most Remarkable Developments in Medicine</span></h2><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">One of the most remarkable medical developments over the last century was the discovery of X-rays. X-rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation, like visible light or radio waves, but they have a higher energy than any other type of radiation. You can think of them like the sun's rays but with more power.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">X-rays were&nbsp;</span><a style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/X-ray" class="editor-rtfLink"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">discovered by Wilhelm Konrad Rontgen</span></a><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">, a German physicist, in 1895. He studied how the electron beams in an electrical discharge will behave when discharged through low-pressure gases. That's when he witnessed that the resulting beams on the sheet still glowed even after the electron discharge was stopped. He discovered that passing a high-voltage current through a vacuum tube could produce an image on a fluorescent screen.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">The x-ray technique is now an inseparable part of modern medicine. X-rays are valuable because they can pass through most materials, including human tissue, as long as they aren't blocked by something dense like metal or concrete. That's why they're used to create images like an X-ray taken to diagnose bone and tissue structure inside the human body.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">For example, you would have seen x-ray images taken at your dentist's office. Your teeth appear white because they don't absorb much X-ray energy, leaving a clear shadow on film when exposed to x-rays from above. Meanwhile, bones appear dark because their high density absorbs most incoming photons before they reach the skin surface, where we see them reflected out into space to record with cameras mounted near our faces inside cabinets explicitly designed for this purpose.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">Many diagnoses are conducted with the help of x-ray techniques. For example, a&nbsp;</span><a style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23987086/" class="editor-rtfLink"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">study conducted</span></a><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">&nbsp;in the Mazovian Province of Poland found that x-rays were used 7612046 times in a year. This accounts for 1460 examinations for every 1000 people; the numbers show the prevalence of using x-rays in the medical field.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true"><br></span></p><h2 style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">New Developments in X-Ray</span></h2><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">Since Wilhelm Konrad Rontgen discovered the x-ray, many technological developments have occurred. Here are some of the studies done in enhancing x-ray imaging techniques.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true"><br></span></p><h3 style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">Early Clinical Use</span></h3><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">Within the first year of invention, over a thousand papers were published about x-ray technology. In 1986, the&nbsp;</span><a style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1120179720301812#f0035" class="editor-rtfLink"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">first x-ray imaging equipment</span></a><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">&nbsp;was installed in Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. The production of x-ray machines accelerated after the first installation, and many devices were soon installed worldwide.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">The later developments focused on the tubes emitting electrons in the machines. Rontgen used a large inductor, which was large and heavy. Hence, developments were made to reduce the size of the tubes and make them practical to be installed in hospital settings.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true"><br></span></p><h3 style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">Detecting Microcracks</span></h3><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">A recent development in the x-ray technique was finding bone microcracks. Microcracks are not visible using standard x-ray imaging techniques. Hence, the researchers from UMBC and UMB tested a&nbsp;</span><a style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191107160601.htm" class="editor-rtfLink"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">colour-based x-ray technique</span></a><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">&nbsp;to find microcracks. They used hafnium particles that appear in colour and programmed them so that they latch onto the cracks.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true"><br></span></p><h3 style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">New X-Ray Technique for Detecting Explosive Materials</span></h3><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">While there have been many advancements, the most recent and popular one is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology with x-rays. AI has long been used to detect patterns in data and for face recognition. The researchers from the University College London used the two technologies to detect explosives and tumours.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">According to the paper published in the&nbsp;</span><a style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-32402-0" class="editor-rtfLink"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">Nature Communications Journal</span></a><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">, the researchers used two proof-of-concept Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) tests. The first test was done using two widely popular CNNs, GoogleNet and Inception ResNet. The first test successfully detected explosive materials, and the second was conducted. The second test was done to examine the efficacy of the first test in challenging environments. The explosives were hidden in electrical items, such as concealed laptops, mobile phones, etc. However, the AI networks and the x-ray techniques could detect the explosives with 100% accurate positive rates, even in the second test.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true"><br></span></p><h3 style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">The Use of the New AI-Aided X-Ray Technique for Detecting Tumors</span></h3><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">The researchers say that while the research was focused on the security field, the new AI-aided x-ray techniques can also have wide applications in medicine, material science, and industrial testing. The technique was focused on determining the microscopic structure difference. Hence, it can be used in medical fields for detecting tumour cells.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">Tumour cells are a result of cancer, which is a complex genetic disease. It is also one of the leading causes of death worldwide. According to data from WHO, cancer caused one in six or around&nbsp;</span><a style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank" href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer" class="editor-rtfLink"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">10 million deaths in 2020</span></a><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">. While detecting cancer through standard x-ray imaging is possible, it becomes visible only after it progresses.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">However, the new x-ray technique can help detect tumours quickly, well before progressing too much. The primary&nbsp;</span><a style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank" href="https://www.verywellhealth.com/cancer-cells-vs-normal-cells-2248794" class="editor-rtfLink"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">difference between normal and tumour cells</span></a><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">&nbsp;is growth. A tumour makes a cell dead. Hence, these cells do not grow, in contrast to normal cells. This creates a small structural difference between the two types of cells. Since the new x-ray technique uses dark-field imaging to detect even the most minor differences, it can easily detect tumours. This can significantly benefit patients as early detection can result in early treatment, which is vital for controlling cancer.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true"><br></span></p><h2 style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">Conclusion</span></h2><p style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background: transparent; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" data-preserver-spaces="true">The x-ray techniques have come a long way. Many developments have already happened, and many kinds of research are ongoing currently. And this is just the beginning. The researchers have already developed a lens that can sense different materials, from plastic compounds and chemicals to drugs. This would help with border security and has other potential applications for detecting disease.</span></p>

Write for us

Subscribe to Magazine