On Vulnerabilities of IoT‐Based Consumer‐Oriented Closed‐Loop Control Automation Systems

Automation or automatic control is the utilization of various types of control systems and schemes to accomplish basic or complex electrical, mechanical or other tasks with minimum or no human intervention. While plenty of literature has emerged in very recent years that deal with the repercussions of attacks on industrial systems, there is not much literature addressing the compromising of consumer‐oriented processes in the context of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and automation. This chapter addresses two specific areas where vulnerabilities can pose high risks: feedback loops and the utilization of centralized service providers. It highlights vulnerabilities in an area that is gradually being the target of a mix of contributions encompassing specialized subjects such as automatic control theory, control systems engineering, information technology, data science, technical standards, Internet governance, and many others. Because of its relationship and synergy with industrial control systems, the chapter also briefly deals with appropriate concepts in this area.