The U.S. Cyber Trust Mark set to launch
The White House has announced the launch of the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark, a voluntary cybersecurity labeling program for consumer-grade internet-connected devices.
“The White House launched this bipartisan effort to educate American consumers and give them an easy way to assess the cybersecurity of such products, as well as incentivize companies to produce more cybersecure devices, much as EnergyStar labels did for energy efficiency,” the White House said.
“The U.S. Cyber Trust Mark program allows [manufacturers] to test products against established cybersecurity criteria from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology via compliance testing by accredited labs, and earn the Cyber Trust Mark label, providing an easy way for American consumers to see the cybersecurity of products they choose to bring into their homes.”
About the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark program
The program will apply to consumer wireless IoT products: smart home appliances, home security cameras, voice-activated shopping devices, fitness trackers, garage door openers, baby monitors, etc.
The program does NOT apply to medical devices, motor vehicles, wired devices, non-consumer products, personal computers, smartphones, and routers. NIST is working on defining cybersecurity requirements for consumer-grade routers.
Manufacturers who develop products that meet the program’s cybersecurity standards will be able to equip them with the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark logo and a QR code that will allow users to read up on the product’s security (e.g., whether software patches / security updates are automatic, how long the product will be supported, how to change the default password and configure the device securely, etc.)
The US Federal Communications Commission has already announced the conditional approval of 11 companies as Cybersecurity Label Administrators and the conditional selection of UL Solutions as the Lead Administrator: the organization that will be responsible for collaborating with stakeholders and for developing a consumer education campaign, and that will recommend to the FCC cybersecurity standards, testing procedures, and label design.
Accredited CyberLABs will test the products to verify whether they meet the program’s cybersecurity requirements and can receive the trust mark.
“The program is open for business in 2025: companies will soon be able to submit their products for testing to earn the label, companies like BestBuy and Amazon will be highlighting labeled products, and consumers can look for products bearing the Trust Mark on the shelves,” the White House concluded.