Abstract—The internet of things (IoT) has grown at a significant pace and has revolutionized the whole technological aspects of internet and things. In the paper around 800 IoT companies headquartered in various countries globally were analyzed. It was observed that the financial returns of select IoT companies for past five years have witnessed a decent growth however; the industry witnessed a slight dip in the year 2016. Appropriate privacy and security measures need to be in place to effectively secure the communications and storage of huge amounts of data generated. Index Terms—Internet, finance, IoT, security. I. INTRODUCTION The term Internet of Things (IoT) encompasses a set of heterogeneous connected devices that are connected via some communication protocols and sensors, which enable us to locate, identify and operate upon these devices. In simpler terms and as can be seen in the cf. Fig. 1 we can say it is the network of physical things, devices, automobiles, constructions and many other physical objects which are implanted with microelectronics, software, antennas, and are connected with network that enables these things to gather and interchange data. The linkage of physical-things to the Internet makes it conceivable to have the access to a remote sensor-data which will allow the control for the physical-world from quite a distance. The reduction of cost, energy consumption and size of hardware devices which are meticulously linked to each-other, in the present day it allows the manufacturers to produce exceedingly small and economical low-end processors [1]. The latest IoT trends in the business suggest that the companies should invest more ensuring R&D and bring products quickly in the market while safeguarding the privacy of users. The companies also should focus on producing the IoT products which are of ease to the users, so that the end-users can maximize the benefits by employing the IoT products. Also, the firms should developing robust IoT-standards that would make it possible to minimize the insecurity and boost new firms to enter the market [2] Given the significance of IoT and the growth it has achieved over the years, it is important to study the financial growth that IoT companies have accomplished. Also, to Manuscript received April 11, 2020; revised June 29, 2020. Bilal Ahmad Pandow is with Department of Commerce, University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar, J&K (e-mail: ibilalhussain@gmail.com). Alwi M Bamhdi is with the Computing College in AlQufudah, Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia (e-mail: saambamhdi@uqu.edu.sa). Faheem Masoodi (Corresponding author) is with Department of Computer Science, University of Kashmir, India (e-mail: masoodifahim@uok.edu.in). compare other technological firms so as to link the growth within the same industry. Fig. 1. The Internet of Things network; source: Cisco IBSG. There have studies which have estimated that about 555 billion units in an Auto-ID Center-specific things will have selection in the supply chains [3]. While in the near future there will be many IT-enabled things surrounding us where people will be either directly or indirectly communicate with these things also, what will be required is a new updated network infrastructure, that will enable the IOT at a large scale. Besides, having a look at the internet users in the world by region, it wouldn’t astonish most that 49% of the users are from Asia, followed by Europe at 16% and Africa at 11%, further regional details can been seen in cf. Fig. 2. The firms dealing with IoT at all levels have to have their focus in the Asian region as almost 50% users are from this region. Fig. 2. Internet users in the world by region; source: Internet world stats as on June 30, 2018. As of today, there are multiple challenges faced by IOT in terms of constrained physical capabilities, standardization, architecture, privacy and security. Considering the mammoth number of heterogeneous devices that are expected to be in IOT network, the architecture is one of the primary issues that must support and manage such type of a network. Also appropriate privacy and security measures need to be in place to effectively secure the communications and storage of huge amounts of data generated. In order to create a system that is effective in its implementation, multiple factors including availability, reliability, management, interoperability, and robustness must be ensured. All of these factors pose specific challenges in the development of an IoT system [4]. Internet of Things: Financial Perspective and Associated Security Concerns Bilal Ahmad Pandow, Alwi M Bamhdi, and Faheem Masoodi International Journal of Computer Theory and Engineering, Vol. 12, No. 5, October 2020 123 DOI: 10.7763/IJCTE.2020.V12.1276