Introduction
Security remains one of the most significant factors in improving the quality of life of the elderly and people with disabilities in care facilities. In this context, security refers to the physical safety of the residents, the confidentiality of personal information, access to medication, availability of IoT functions, proper energy management, and prevention of in-house accidents. Automation and smart home integration are effective methods to address these issues and improve the overall quality of life in care homes. Ultimately, the current chapter provides a thorough analysis of security challenges and potential solutions in social care facilities for the elderly and patients with disabilities in the context of smart homes and automation.
Security Challenges: Vulnerable Privacy
Vulnerability of privacy is a relevant problem in all healthcare and social facilities. The oversaturation of medical records and personal information can overload the systems, and data can be lost or stolen. Criminals might use it for fraud, impersonation, and other illegal techniques to reveal more valuable information from the residents of care facilities. In particular, the research shows that older adults are vulnerable to cyber threats due to a relatively low level of proficiency with technology (Frik et al., 2019). Moreover, it is a relevant problem because it can emerge in traditional care facilities and residencies with integrated smart home systems. IoT is a practical approach, but it is associated with multiple cyber risks and potential threats if implemented incorrectly.
Security Solutions: Vulnerable Privacy
The potential solution to the problem includes the implementation and continual maintenance of the automation systems. (Meng et al., 2018) propose five general directions for improving the security of the Internet of Things (IoT) systems in the context of privacy and confidential information. The first strategy concerns the deviation of communication channel frequencies to address jamming attacks (Meng et al., 2018). Consequently, traffic encryption is crucial to prevent traffic analysis/overload threats (Meng et al., 2018). Additional steps in the authentication process might help mitigate the issue of unauthorized connections to integrated devices, improving overall privacy security.
Another prominent cyber threat is the attack on mobile apps that typically control the IoT system in care facilities. To prevent this risk, the authors propose to improve the contextual integrity of applications and implement additional security systems in the code (Meng et al., 2018). Lastly, (Meng et al., 2018) suggest that “two-factor-based voice authentication” is an effective method to mitigate voice impersonation and voice spoofing attacks (p. 56). Ultimately, privacy threats are relevant security issues, and it is crucial to address them by implementing an efficient automated framework and ensuring that it is protected against most cyber risks.
Vulnerable Privacy and Energy Consumption
Moreover, the privacy of residents can be threatened due to inefficient energy management by automated frameworks. This issue leads to potential power cuts and an overload in energy consumption, which can obstruct the IoT system (Almusaylim & Zaman, 2019). The solution to the problem generally concerns the implementation of the energy-aware framework and reserve power generators (Almusaylim & Zaman, 2019). The former restricts and redistributes the usage of appliances within the care facility in such a manner that all connected devices do not exceed the limits of energy consumption (Almusaylim & Zaman, 2019). Cloud computing is one of the popular methods to execute this strategy; however, innovative models constantly emerge in the field of energy awareness (Almusaylim & Zaman, 2019). Reserve generators could be used in case of a power cut or if the IoT system is disconnected from the grid. It is a relevant problem for most smart home frameworks; hence, it is crucial to be prepared for potential accidents.
Security Challenges: Physical Safety
Physical safety refers to the extent to how well residents are protected from external and internal threats. The former includes the risks of violence, theft, and other illegal activities. While this problem is not the most relevant issue for care facilities, it is still crucial to mitigate it by installing state-of-the-art systems (Moniruzzaman et al., 2020). According to the research, older adults and people with disabilities are some of the prioritized target groups for fraud, cyber threats, and physical crimes (Payne, 2020). Internal threats are more relevant issues since the elderly and people with disabilities are vulnerable to falls, medication errors, and other associated accidents (Moniruzzaman et al., 2020). Recent research emphasizes the “homecare” security problem as the primary challenge that significantly hinders the quality of life in care facilities (Moniruzzaman et al., 2020). Ultimately, the physical safety of older adults and people with disabilities remains the focus of many quality improvement (QI) frameworks in smart homes.
Security Solutions: Physical Safety
A relevant solution to the problem is the implementation of innovative smart home systems focusing on IoT integration in the facilities. Extensive academic research demonstrates that this approach is beneficial for improving physical safety (Basatneh et al., 2018; Moniruzzaman et al., 2020). The most notable advantage of these systems is continual monitoring, management, and detection features. For instance, (Basatneh et al., 2018) have found that IoT integration has a positive correlation with fall detection among older adults, monitoring of medication, and control of residents’ vital signs. The authors particularly emphasize how a combination of wearable sensors and automation of care facilities can improve the quality of life of people with severe diseases, such as diabetes (Basatneh et al., 2018). Ultimately, there are multiple ways in which smart home systems can improve the physical safety of residents, and they are specifically beneficial for the elderly and people with disabilities.
Security Challenges: Automation Complexity and User Unawareness
Lastly, the indirect security challenge in the context of smart home systems concerns the complexity of automated frameworks. As mentioned briefly before, older adults are particularly lacking proficiencies in operating complicated technologies, and this issue might lead to more confidentiality and security problems (Frik et al., 2019). According to the research, more than 80% of people over 65 years old in care facilities struggle with basic technological functions, such as making a video call via a web application or downloading a mobile app (Frik et al., 2019). Hence, user unawareness is one of the relevant problems that can lead to privacy and security challenges.
Security Solutions: Automation Complexity and User Unawareness
There are two primary methods to mitigate the problem – more thorough education about the features of automated systems or reduction of users’ involvement in the usage of IoT systems. The former is an effective method; however, the research shows that the perceived benefits of technology awareness among older adults are underappreciated (Zheng et al., 2018). IT specialists generally struggle to cooperate with the elderly in persuading them of the practicality of IoT frameworks (Zheng et al., 2018). As a result, this reluctance to learn about smart home designs and their privacy risks can lead to private information leaks and associated security problems (Zheng et al., 2018). From these considerations, reducing the involvement of users in IoT operations might decrease the risks of cyber threats, but it might also lead to ethical issues of accessibility. Ultimately, overly complicated IoT systems might increase user unawareness and lead to associated security challenges, andthe presented solutions might be effective in mitigating the examined problems.
References
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