LBEF RESEARCH JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT

Author(s):Sandesh Gurung, Dolma Kumari Sherpa

Abstract:IoT is one of the emerging technologies today having its impacts on our daily lives. IoT has influence over various domain from a simple wearable device to the huge industrial uses. Smart Home is one of the most talked about IoT domains which has already affected large population along with its chances of increase to more than we believe. The technology has become an essential milestone in smart home environment to bring convenience and efficiency in our daily doings. Also, the technology has become an increasingly popular topic for researchers. Despite its popularity and highly usage, the concern of data privacy issues is important to better understand the privacy implications in smart home usage. Connection of smart home devices to the internet and sharing data and information in between results in new security challenges and problems. Thus, using the technology without prior knowledge and preparedness could result to different security attacks and risks for smart home users. While in the context of Nepal, the smart home technology is not a new concept but has less impact on residents. The population in Nepal seemed to be less or not aware of smart home technology and its data privacy issue considerations. The following research provides the background information about IoT and smart homes along with its challenges in data privacy perspectives and provide meaningful recommendations in the context of data privacy vulnerabilities in smart home environment. In addition, the research also examines the understanding and awareness of IoT and smart homes among the population in Nepal through survey procedure. The recommendations and suggestions to encounter the possible threats and attacks in smart home environment after the careful data analysis adds useful contribution for smart home consumers as well as the suppliers/suppliers.

Keywords:Internet of Things, Smart Homes, Data Privacy Issues, Data Security