Comparative Analysis of Cybersecurity Threats and Privacy Preservation Frameworks in Heterogeneous IoT Ecosystems: A Data-Driven Evaluation Using the CICIoT2023 Dataset

Abstract

The digital architecture of the twenty-first century has been fundamentally redefined by the rapid
expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT), a paradigm that bridges the gap between physical entities and
digital networks. By the year 2025, it is estimated that the global deployment of IoT-connected devices
will exceed 30.9 billion, a staggering growth rate that underscores the technology's integration into
nearly every facet of modern life, from critical healthcare infrastructure and smart city management to
industrial automation and consumer electronics.1 This interconnectedness provides unprecedented
operational advantages, including real-time monitoring and autonomous decision-making capabilities.
However, this same connectivity introduces a massive and highly distributed cyberattack surface. Unlike
traditional computing systems, IoT environments are characterized by an inherent heterogeneity in
communication protocols and a pervasive set of resource constraints—including limited processing
power, restricted memory, and low battery capacity—that render conventional security mechanisms,
such as heavy-duty encryption and centralized firewalling, largely ineffective.