European Commission Ponders Security Labels for IoT | EurActiv.com

The European Commission is contemplating labels for Internet connected devices that inform consumers about their security and privacy practices.
The European Commission is contemplating labels for Internet connected devices that inform consumers about their security and privacy practices.

The web site EurActiv.com is reporting that the European Commission (EC) is getting ready to propose new legislation to protect machines from cybersecurity breaches. Among the steps they’re considering: labels for Internet-connected devices that tell consumers they are “approved and secure.”

Products across industries from energy and consumer goods to automotive and healthcare could eventually be required to use the labels on their products, just as electrical devices currently contain labels that inform consumers how much power they use, EU officials said.

Digital policy chiefs Günther Oettinger and Andrus Ansip presented a plan three weeks ago to speed up internet connections to meet the needs of big industries like car manufacturing and agriculture as they gradually use more internet functions. But lawmakers recognize that the transition to more and faster internet connections has caused many companies to worry that new products and industrial tools that rely on the internet will be more vulnerable to attacks from hackers.

The new rules would compel companies that make connected product to “meet tough security standards and go through multi-pronged certification processes to guarantee privacy,” the article said

“That’s really a problem in the internet of things. It’s not enough to just look at one component. You need to look at the network, the cloud. You need a governance framework to get certification,” Thibault Kleiner, Oettinger’s deputy head of cabinet, said  at a Brussels conference on October 4, EurActiv reported.

Source: Commission plans cybersecurity rules for internet-connected machines – EurActiv.com

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