Headlines about everything from smartphones to 3D printers and giant television screens will abound this week: the annual gadgetfest that is the International Consumer Electronics Show opens to the public in Las Vegas today. Last year’s event attracted 160,000 attendees. A popular theme will be the Internet of Things—shorthand for gadgets that communicate with one another and with people, via smartphones and other devices. Some 900 firms will be showing off connected gear such as home-security systems and luxury cars. But plenty of difficulties await. “The market’s being held back by immature products, fragmented standards and ill-defined ideas about how we should be using connected things,” says Martin Garner of CCS Insight, a research firm. Then there’s the thorny issue of what happens to the sensitive information devices collect. It’s no coincidence that a growing group of exhibitors will be selling products and services that protect personal data from prying eyes.