Who bears the responsibility for securing the Internet of Things? The natural response to this question would be that all players in the IoT space should shoulder their share, and work collectively at protecting their place in the IoT ecosystem. This though, begs the question of who will be the overseer of this? Who will establish the tenets of governance? What body or entity will be the enforcer of the rules? Maybe IoT industry players will continue to improve the cybersecurity features of their devices on their own? Or does the Federal Government step in? I think we would all agree that some minimum standards be established for IoT product, solution and service providers. Two Federal Government officials have taken the first step toward establishing a baseline by drafting legislation aimed at the consumer level for starters. Their goal is to create a “Good Housekeeping” seal of approval for IoT connected devices.
Next week, AEI will host an event on Capitol Hill about consumer security and the Internet of Things (IoT) with Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA). These lawmakers have drafted legislation that would create a “cyber shield” mark aimed at helping consumers identify IoT devices that “meet industry-leading cybersecurity and data security standards, guidelines, best practices, methodologies, procedures, and processes.”
