The Biden administration said it will launch a cybersecurity labeling program for consumer Internet of Things (IoT) devices starting in 2023 in an effort to protect Americans from “significant national security risks.”

Image: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch

Inspired by ENERGY STAR, a labeling program operated by US EPA to promote energy efficiency, the White House is planning to roll out a similar IoT labeling program to the “highest-risk” devices starting next year, a senior Biden administration official said following a recent National Security Council meeting with consumer product associations and device manufacturers.

The initiative, described by White House officials as “ENERGY STAR for cyber,” will help Americans to recognize whether devices meet a set of basic cybersecurity standards devised by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Though specifics of the program have not yet been confirmed, the administration said it will “keep things simple.” The labels, which will be “globally recognized” and debut on devices such as routers and home cameras, will take the form of a “barcode” that users can scan using their smartphone rather than a static paper label, the administration official said. The scanned barcode will link to information based on standards, such as software updating policies, data encryption and vulnerability remediation.

The announcement comes after the White House last year ordered NIST and the FTC to explore two labeling pilot programs on cybersecurity capabilities for IoT devices. It also comes after the U.K. government last year introduced an IoT security bill in Parliament, requiring device manufacturers, importers, and distributors to meet certain cybersecurity standards.

Read the full story in TechCrunch here.

The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) released the Matter 1.0 specification and the opening of the Matter certification program on October 4th. Member companies that make up all facets of the IoT now have a complete program for bringing the next generation of interoperable products that work across brands and platforms to market with greater privacy, security, and simplicity for consumers.

Image courtesy of Connectivity Standards Alliance

As part of the Matter 1.0 release, authorized test labs are open for product certification, the test harnesses and tools are available, and the open-source reference design software development kit (SDK) is complete – all to bring new, innovative products to market. Further, Alliance members with devices already deployed and with plans to update their products to support Matter can now do so, once their products are certified.

Over 280 member companies — including Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Google, Samsung SmartThings, and Signify — have brought their technologies, experience, and innovations together to ensure Matter met the needs of all stakeholders, including users, product makers, and platforms. Collectively, these companies led the way through requirements and specification development, reference design, multiple test events, and final specification validation to reach this industry milestone.

More than just a specification, the Matter 1.0 standard launches with test cases and comprehensive test tools for Alliance members and a global certification program including eight authorized test labs that are primed to test not only Matter, but also Matter’s underlying network technologies, Wi-Fi and Thread. Wi-Fi enables Matter devices to interact over a high-bandwidth local network and allows smart home devices to communicate with the cloud. Thread provides an energy-efficient and highly reliable mesh network within the home. Both the Wi-Fi Alliance and Thread Group partnered with the Connectivity Standards Alliance to help realize the complete vision of Matter.

This initial release of Matter, running over Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Thread, and using Bluetooth Low Energy for device commissioning, will support lighting and other common smart home products, including electrical, HVAC controls, window coverings, and shades, safety and security sensors, door locks, media devices including TVs, controllers as both devices and applications, and bridges.

Read the full CSA announcement here.