Estate Living Magazine Connection - Issue 43 July 2019 | Page 53

L I V E
S M A R T
• Added important safety benefits: A company called En-Gauge
uses IoT to monitor and track safety equipment, including fire
extinguishers and medical oxygen tanks, to ensure that they are
placed in the right locations, and are charged and ready to be
used during an emergency.
• Improved quality of life: Smart cities are already making news.
Copenhagen is using sensors to monitor bike traffic in real time,
London is launching a smart parking project that allows drivers
to quickly locate parking spaces, and Barcelona is rolling out a
whole host of smart meters that monitor energy consumption,
waste disposal and much more.
• Improved efficiency: United Parcel Service (UPS) had already
installed GPS devices in its delivery vehicles by 2008, which
saves them a vast amount of money by identifying the shortest
and most fuel-efficient routes.
Knowing the risk of hacking and cybercrime
The reality is that the IoT allows for endless opportunities and
connections to take place, and it certainly opens the door to a
lot of opportunities – but also to many challenges. Security is
a big issue that often comes up. With the rise of the IoT, more
and more items in our business and private lives have become
digitised. This translates to more and more areas of our world
becoming vulnerable to cybercriminals.
air conditioning, and media and security systems. Long-term
benefits could include energy savings by automatically ensuring
lights and electronics are turned off.
The best thing that we can do is to educate ourselves about the
IoT and its potential impact on how we work, live and play. This
will help us understand the many opportunities and challenges
that are going to be presented as more and more devices start
to join the IoT.
Santam is an authorise financial service provider (licence number 3416)
For more information on cybercrime cover,
www.sha.co.za/v2_products/financial-lines/cyber-crime-and-
liability/
I
There is also a never-ending list of applications for businesses
that can use these networked systems and collected data to
improve products and processes:
So what now?
• Reduced costs and risk: IoT is also being used by insurers to
help safeguard customers in terms of safety, security and leaks
using security cameras, sensors and leak detectors that can
be connected to the Internet. In partnership with the Sensor
Networks, a Santam policyholder can now have an electric
geyser retroactively fitted with a smart-geyser device linked to
a smartphone app. In the event of a leak, burst geyser or blown
element, the device recognises the problem and automatically
shuts off the water and electricity supply to the geyser, limiting
any resultant consequential damage. Home owners can also
manage their geyser temperature and heating schedule, and
Santam receives immediate notifications when an issue occurs,
leading to the speedy processing and resolution of any resultant
claims.
According to Simon Colman, executive head at SHA, which is
underwritten by Santam, ‘all IoT device-connected businesses
are susceptible to cybercrime, irrespective of their infrastructure
and architecture. The failure of implementing security controls
and creating awareness among end users are still the leading
causes for cybercrime.’