The Biden Administration is working alongside tech companies to put in place a cybersecurity certification and labelling program on participating smart devices. Google, Amazon, Samsung, and Best Buy are among those who will be implementing labels on their devices to indicate they are less vulnerable to cyberattacks.
The Federal Communications Commission is filing a national trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office which would inform and urge consumers to look for a cybersecurity label on products. These devices would include baby monitors, home security cameras, fitness trackers, as well as smart TVs, refrigerators, and climate control systems.
More than 90% of Americans worry about security threats in their homes, according to the Consumer Technology Association, making the move to enhance public safety more important than ever. The FCC will oversee the program which will attach a “Cyber Trust” label, a shield logo, on products that “are built with certain protections to defend against cyber criminals and intruders,” the CTA said in a news release.
The U.S. cybersecurity standards will be voluntary for companies, but the products bearing the shield logo will be featured above the ones that don’t when listed for online purchases. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is responsible for the base requirements that companies will need to adhere to including using unique and strong default passwords, data protection, software updates, and incident detection capabilities, the White House said in a statement.
“This new labeling program would help provide Americans with greater assurances about the cybersecurity of the products they use and rely on in their everyday lives,” the White House said in a statement. “It would also be beneficial for businesses, as it would help differentiate trustworthy products in the marketplace.”
Participating devices will also contain QR codes that can be scanned to review updated security information. The White House confirmed the FCC is expected to hold a forum for the public to provide comments on the labeling program which is expected to be rolled out in 2024 and the CTA told AP News that products that have already received certification will be presented at CES 2024 in January.
The move comes as consumers face a growing risk of cybersecurity threats on vulnerable devices that don’t update or patch software fast enough to keep up with the rise in malware threats.
“This is a welcome step to introduce some basic common standards in what is currently the Wild West for these sorts of devices,” Andrew Whaley, a senior technical director at Norwegian cybersecurity firm Promon wrote in an emailed statement to Gizmodo.
He added, “There still remains the huge problem of the millions of vulnerable devices which are already out there, often with no upgrade path to close vulnerabilities. It will be interesting to see the full set of standards and how deep they go to mandate controls within firmware which can otherwise compromise the networks they are connected to.”
Google, Amazon, Samsung, and Best Buy did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.