“Internet of Things” Needs to be More Secure

EAST GREENBUSH, N.Y. and WASHINGTON, D.C., February 15, 2021- Network-connected devices are found in most households around the world and the Internet of Things (IoT) has become part of daily life. While items like smart TVs, watches and home surveillance systems offer convenience to consumers, they can also pose security threats when they are not manufactured and maintained with standard security practices.

The Center for Internet Security, Inc. (CIS®) is joining more than 100 other entities in calling for manufacturers and vendors to adhere to a set of security standards when placing these devices on the market. Establishing a global baseline of security for internet connected devices is a step toward a more secure digital future.

According to CIS CEO John Gilligan, “The speed of evolution of modern information technologies can result in new products that lack adequate cyber protections. The World Economic Forum recognized this gap in the Internet of Things (IoT) space and coordinated the development of an international, multi-stakeholder consensus of five effective, common-sense best practices to serve as a global baseline for IoT security. The result is intended help manufacturers and vendors identify and implement the most important device security that can help ensure that IoT devices can be relied upon by consumers around the world.”

You can read the World Economic Forum statement in its entirety at: https://cybertechaccord.org/industry-hackers-and-consumers-for-a-global-baseline-for-consumer-iot-security/

To speak with WEF’s Jeff Merritt, head of the Council on the Connected World, please contact Lisa Chamberlain at [email protected].

To speak with CIS’s John Gilligan, please contact Kelly Wyland at [email protected].

About us:

The Center for Internet Security, Inc. (CIS®) makes the connected world a safer place for people, businesses, and governments through our core competencies of collaboration and innovation. We are a community-driven nonprofit, responsible for the CIS Critical Security Controls® and CIS Benchmarks™, globally recognized best practices for securing IT systems and data. We lead a global community of IT professionals to continuously evolve these standards and provide products and services to proactively safeguard against emerging threats. Our CIS Hardened Images® provide secure, on-demand, scalable computing environments in the cloud. CIS is home to the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center® (MS-ISAC®), the trusted resource for cyber threat prevention, protection, response, and recovery for U.S. State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial government entities, and the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center® (EI-ISAC®), which supports the rapidly changing cybersecurity needs of U.S. election offices. To learn more, visit cisecurity.org or follow us on Twitter: @CISecurity.