Privacy of the Internet of Things: A Systematic Literature Review (Extended Discussion)

The Internet of Things' potential for major privacy invasion is a concern. This paper reports on a systematic literature review of privacy-preserving solutions appearing in the research literature and in the media. We analysed proposed solutions in terms of the techniques they deployed and the extent to which they satisfied core privacy principles. We found that very few solutions satisfied all core privacy principles. We also identified a number of key knowledge gaps in the course of the analysis. In particular, we found that most solution providers assumed that end users would be willing to expend effort to preserve their privacy; that they would be motivated to act to preserve their privacy. The validity of this assumption needs to be proved, since it cannot simply be assumed that people would necessarily be willing to engage with these solutions. We suggest this as a topic for future research.