Everyday household items, including your remote thermostat and baby monitor, can leave you vulnerable to hackers. But a new federal program hopes to identify and label which Internet-connected products are taking extra steps to protect your information online.
Any device that can be accessed remotely and transfers information over the Internet is vulnerable to a hacker, said Tracy Mitrano, a visiting professor of information sciences at Cornell University.
If a hacker can access the data on your device, they may be able to access your product account, which is usually linked to a bank account or other personal information, Mitrano said.
On most newly purchased products, privacy settings are either default or completely disabled. It is up to you to take steps to protect information sent through the device.
Mitrano said he recently bought a printer and put a password on it to protect it from hackers. [that could] They could be foreign governments, organized crime or they could be the stereotypical boy in the basement.”
Once a hacker finds a vulnerability, they attack it and use the stolen information, Mitrano said, adding that these attacks can occur in mere “nanoseconds.”
The average Internet-enabled home has more than 17 connected devices, a number that has increased over the past three years as more people have shifted to working from home, according to research published by Parks Associates, a market research firm focused on devices connected to the Internet. .
But privacy concerns make many consumers reluctant to buy some products and services that connect to the Internet, said Elizabeth Parks, the company's president.
Parks Associates found that 30% of Internet-connected American households do not own or intend to purchase smart home devices, pointing to cybersecurity threats as a deciding factor.
In an effort to support consumers in their quest for secure connectivity through their devices, the Federal Communications Commission recently voted to create a voluntary cybersecurity labeling program for wireless consumer products.
The commission has not yet released its final plans for the program, but its goal is to label smart products that meet strong cybersecurity standards with the new “US Cyber Trust Mark.”
A version of this logo with a QR code for product information will soon appear on smart devices near you, if they meet FCC cybersecurity standards.
(Federal Communications Commission)
The bright green label will include a QR code linking to a product registry that will provide consumer-friendly information about the device's cybersecurity protections.
The logo is intended to create trust between the consumer and the companies that make their devices, similar to the Energy Star program, Parks said.
Consumers who purchase a refrigerator or clothes dryer with the Energy Star logo know that the product saves energy; The logo indicates that the device has gone through a certification process overseen by the US Environmental Protection Agency. It is that level of trust that the FCC hopes to gain with the US Cyber Trust Mark.
As society becomes more connected and more products are created for that connectivity, consumers can make informed purchasing decisions, differentiate trusted products in the market, and create incentives for manufacturers to meet higher cybersecurity standards to obtain the new label, said Jessica Rosenworcel, chairwoman of the FCC. .
“Our expectation is that over time more companies will use the Cyber Trust Mark and more consumers will demand it,” Rosenworcel said in a statement.
He said the brand has “the power to become the global standard for secure Internet of Things devices.”
