Data Privacy and Protection in IoT Systems

Dear Colleagues,

Data privacy and protection in IoT systems address critical challenges arising from the proliferation of interconnected devices in smart cities, healthcare, industrial automation, and consumer applications. IoT devices, often deployed at the edge with limited security mechanisms, are threatened by unauthorized data access, device tampering, identity theft, and eavesdropping. Key solutions to these issues include lightweight encryption (e.g., homomorphic Paillier, SM9 signatures) for resource-constrained devices, blockchain-based authentication to ensure data integrity and decentralized trust, and privacy-preserving techniques such as hidden-policy access control and network coding, which anonymize sensitive information. Edge/fog computing architectures further mitigate latency and bandwidth issues while enhancing localized security. However, challenges related to scalability, energy efficiency, regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR, CCPA), and resilience against evolving threats such as adversarial AI attacks persist. Future research should therefore address standardization, AI-driven threat detection, and cross-domain collaboration to balance innovation with robust privacy safeguards.

Dr. Chengzu Dong
Dr. Shao Di
Dr. Aiting Yao
Guest Editors

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