Defense department moving slowly on 'Internet of Things'.

• Author: Harper, Jon

* Defense Department leaders have identified the "Internet of Things" as a key component of the military's modernization strategy. But the Pentagon is behind the curve due to security concerns and other impediments, cyber experts said.

There is a fear that without proper safeguards, this linkage of systems could be compromised with disastrous consequences.

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to "networks of objects that communicate with other objects and with computers through the Internet," the Congressional Research Service said in a recent report about the concept. '"Things' may include virtually any object for which remote communication, data collection or control might be useful" such as vehicles, appliances, medical devices, electric grids, transportation infrastructure, manufacturing equipment or building systems.

The technology concept is made possible by the integration of sensors, Internet connectivity, digital analytics and automation, explained William Carter, co-author of a Center for Strategic and International Studies report released in September, "Leveraging the Internet of Things for a More Efficient and Effective Military."

The private sector has embraced the Internet of Things as a way to improve operations, using it to monitor machines, track supply chains and automate business and industrial processes. The economic impact of the technologies will be between $2.7 trillion and $6.2 trillion per year by 2025, the report said.

But the Pentagon has failed to fully leverage them despite the potential benefits, according to analysts and defense officials.

"The military continues to lead in the development of some high-end applications of IoT technologies such as surveillance and reconnaissance drones, advanced sensors and satellite communications systems, but the development and deployment of the vast majority of IoT applications are driven by the commercial sector with the military severely lagging behind," the CSIS report said.

The Internet of Things is as much about networking machines and human-machine interfaces as it is developing new platforms or systems, said retired Marine Gen. James Cartwright, former vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.

"This is not an invention that's required. ... It is an organizational issue," he said during a recent conference at CSIS. "While we have networks out there today and we act and react to those networks and what they sense and what they tell us ... most of that activity is...