A cloud based conceptual identity management model for secured Internet of Things operation

An era ago, projecting artificial intelligence as the pillar of next-generation technology would have been technically difficult. Today, machines are getting smarter, sparking a new wave of technology that resulted to Internet of Things (IoT). With IoT in play, individuals are able to connect more electronic devices other than smartphones and computers to the Internet. The vision is to create the possibility to manage electronic appliances via the Internet with the most minimal human intervention. IoT promises the application of computing to anything anywhere, and anyone at any time. Thus, it has been estimated that over 100 billion devices will be running the IoT model - drawing the power of cloud processing to create a massive network of devices that are bound to change the essential facets of life in various dimensions. However, several obstacles remain to fulfill this vision, among them is security concerns from an Identity of Things (IDoT) management perspective. IoT devices and users are already under cyber attacks, and any lapse in identity management will propagate these attacks. This paper examined how identity management for IoT is likely to play out in a world where the Internet and cloud technologies are expected to take center stage in the running of day-to-day activities. The paper analyses the identity of things challenges in IoT, followed by a proposal of cloud identity management model for IoT.