The seal of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seen before an FCC meeting to vote on net neutrality in Washington, Dec. 14, 2017. The Biden administration and major consumer tech players are launching an effort to put a nationwide cybersecurity certification and labeling program in place to help consumers choose smart devices that are less vulnerable to hacking. Officials liken the new "U.S. Cyber Trust Mark" initiative to the Energy Star program that rates appliances' energy efficiency. It will be overseen by the Federal Communications Commission. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
The Biden administration and major consumer technology players on Tuesday launched an effort to put a nationwide cybersecurity certification and labeling program in place to help consumers choose smart devices that are less vulnerable to hacking.
Officials likened the new U.S. Cyber Trust Mark initiative — to be overseen by the Federal Communications Commission, with industry participation voluntary — to the Energy Star program, which rates appliances’ energy efficiency.
“It will allow Americans to confidently identify which internet- and Bluetooth-connected devices are cybersecure,” deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger told reporters in a pre-announcement briefing.
Amazon, Best Buy, Google, LG Electronics USA, Logitech and Samsung as among industry participants.
Devices including baby monitors, home security cameras, fitness trackers, TVs, refrigerators and smart climate control systems that meet the U.S. government’s cybersecurity requirements will bear the “Cyber Trust” label, a shield logo, as early as next year, officials said.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the mark will give consumers “peace of mind” and benefit manufacturers, whose products would need to adhere to criteria set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to qualify.
The FCC was launching a rule-making process to set the standards and seek public comment. Besides carrying logos, participating devices would have QR codes that could be scanned for updated security information.
In a statement, the Consumer Technology Association said consumers could expect to see certification-ready products at the industry’s annual January show, CES 2024, once the FCC adopts final rules. A senior Biden administration official said it was expected that products that qualify for the logo would undergo an annual re-certification.
The Cyber Trust initiative was first announced in October following a meeting between White House and tech industry representatives.
The proliferation of so-called smart devices has coincided with growing cybercrime in which one insecure device can often give a cyberintruder a dangerous foothold on a home network.
An April report from the cybersecurity firm Bitdefender and networking equipment company NetGear, based on their monitoring of smart homes, found that the most vulnerable devices in 2022 were, far and away, smart TVs, followed by smart plugs, routers and digital video recorders.
Providers of numerous smart home devices often don’t update and patch software fast enough to thwart newly emerging malware threats. The Cyber Mark standards are expected to make clear which devices patch vulnerable software in a timely fashion and secure their communications to preserve privacy, officials said. Also important will be informing consumers which devices are equipped to detect intrusions.
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Mark MacDougall, attorney and former prosecutor with the criminal division of the Department of Justice, joined Cheddar to discuss the fraud conviction of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. MacDougall addressed Holmes' stance that what she did was no different than any other Silicon Valley startup's approach to business and how this will shake out for the industry going forward. "I can't imagine it doesn't have some salutary effect on entrepreneurs and people involved in new ventures going forward," he said. Holmes was found guilty on 4 of 11 counts, with each carrying a maximum of 20 years in prison, but MacDougall explained that the lengthy prison sentences were unlikely.
Sports betting is going mainstream in the United States. Dozens of states have legalized it, California is set to do the same this year. Arizona, which legalized sports betting in September, set new national records for gambling in its first months. Daniel Graetzer, CEO of Maximbet, joins Cheddar News to discuss what's next for the booming industry.
A new report from ProPublica and the Washington Post found that Facebook Groups played a major role in the spread of misinformation linked to the January 6 insurrection with more than 650,000 posts claiming that Joe Biden's election victory was illegitimate.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals, Dr. Anita Gupta, Adjunct assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, shares her forecast for the healthcare industry in 2022; Waseem Asghar, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Computer & Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Florida Atlantic University, breaks down the latest progress, trends, and innovations in wearable health tech; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Hacking our Biome.'
Waseem Asghar, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Computer & Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Florida Atlantic University, joins Cheddar Reveals to break down the latest progress, trends, and innovations in wearable health tech.
Ford is accelerating production of its highly anticipated electric F-150 Lightning with an expectation to pump out 150,000 vehicles annually to meet surging demand. Kumar Galhotra, Ford president of the Americas and international markets group, joined Cheddar to detail the plan to get more customers behind the wheel and to become the top of the competition in the electric vehicle space. "Within the next 24 months, we will have capacity, globally, to deliver 600,000 battery-electric vehicles per year," he said.
