C27 1 hr
Privacy, metadata, and IoT security
What metadata reveals, how IoT affects privacy, and the challenges of securing devices.
Metadata
Metadata is data about data: timestamps, device IDs, locations, and traffic patterns. Even when content is encrypted, metadata can reveal behaviour — for example, when a house is empty.
Privacy impact
- Continuous sensing can reveal habits and presence.
- Devices may send data to third parties by default.
- Weak access control exposes personal data.
Security challenges
- Weak default credentials — devices shipped with known passwords.
- No updates — firmware that is never patched.
- Limited compute — strong encryption is expensive on small devices.
- Physical access — devices may be reachable by attackers.
- Scale — thousands of devices are hard to monitor.
Mitigations
Change defaults, patch regularly, use unique credentials, segment networks, encrypt traffic, and collect only necessary data.
Check your understanding
- Give an example of metadata that reveals behaviour.
- Name three challenges for securing IoT devices.