IoT, or the Internet of Things is slowly becoming common in American households. However, most people do not realize it. The IoT is wireless objects that connect to the Internet. Watches, alarm clocks, fire alarms, garages…you get the picture. So, they may not be quite a household name, but everyone is using them. Now comes the new IoMT, or the Internet of Medical Things, which includes remote patient monitoring, mHealth devices, hospital beds, etc.

The Good

Let’s face it…what’s not good about the concept? It makes the following possible:

• You can remotely send the data of your patients directly to your network where you can look at the data whenever it is convenient.
• You can have better control over scheduling patients, which can mean less waiting time for them and overall, happier patients.
• Non-vital patients can connect with you through a virtual machine and not waste the time to come out to the office for a simple change in medication.

The IoT does not have many enemies. A managed service provider can keep track of all the data that comes in with no problems. It makes it easier to connect laptops, tablets and other devices to your network, and your service provider can initiate proper protocols to keep all your data safe. Finally, we have created something that seems to be all good. But wait…

The Bad

You do have to make sure to make time for your clients. The data influx can actually be maiming if it is not properly controlled. There have been cases where physicians have jumped on the band wagon too early and found themselves stuck at the office for hours trying to go over all the data they received throughout the day. There are also the hackers.

Hackers swim through the internet like sharks constantly trying to smell blood. Since the IoT and the IoMT are all about wireless devices, it gives hackers a way into non-secured systems. Think about it. You have wireless fire alarms installed in your house. How does that wireless signal get out? Through your personal Internet router. If the hackers can hack into your router, then they have opened a backdoor into your computer system, and they may be able to control any and every device connected to your router.

The Reality

The answer to most of the IoT woes is your managed service provider. They know how to secure and protect all of your IoT devices, but the ball is also in your court. You need to make sure that your provider is aware of your devices, and that they know what level of encryption you require. The thing about IoT is many people take them everywhere they go. So, your business may not be the only network that needs to be protected.

The key here is to ask your managed service provider what they can do. Contact TOSS C3 now. In most cases your IoT device will be protected as long as it remains connected to the associated, protected network. If you take the device off the network and connect it to another network, then who knows what may come swimming in.