How Standards Make Connected Devices Safer and More Secure

Connected devices are everywhere—your television, home security system, thermostat, and even your refrigerator, all may be capable of connecting to a home WIFI network. Find out how standards and certifications help to ensure these connected devices are safe, secure, and reliable.

What is IoT? What does IoT stand for?

IoT stands for Internet of Things, which refers to the infrastructure of interconnected people, devices, systems, information, and resources together with services that process and react to information from the physical world and virtual world.

What are IoT devices? What are some examples of smart devices and IoT devices?

An IoT device is an instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, appliance, implant, in vitro reagent, or material that interacts and communicates over a network with the physical world through sensing and/or actuating. Examples of smart home devices and IoT devices include the following:

• Smart security systems (e.g., cameras, doorbell, motion sensors)
• Smart thermostats or climate control
• Smart smoke/CO detectors
• Smart lighting systems
• Smart locks/smart garage door openers,
• Smart appliances (e.g., refrigerator, washer, etc.)
• Connected home safety sensors (e.g., water leak detectors)
• Smart speakers/virtual assistants (e.g., Google Home, Amazon Echo)
• Connected air quality monitors

What is a smart home?

A smart home is a home equipped with connected, IoT devices and appliances that help to make everyday life safer and more efficient. These can include smart thermostats and climate control, lighting systems, and locks that can easily be monitored via smartphone or even adjusted via voice control.

How to secure IoT devices

IoT devices can be made secure through the use of standards and certifications — standards establish foundational guidelines for smart home product safety, reliability, and interoperability, while certifications verify compliance through rigorous testing and assessment. Safety standards do more than help ensure compliance — they act as catalysts for innovation and maintain consumer protection. Certifications demonstrate compliance to standards, which outline minimum guidelines or specifications and drive enhanced safety features, with both consumers and businesses recognizing their dual role in protection and development.

What security or other risks might you encounter with IoT?

Many IoT devices carry risks regarding electrical and fire safety, data security and privacy, and product reliability — which have made standards and certification essential. Standards help to safely guide technological progress for smart devices. These standards emerge through a transparent process where manufacturers, testing laboratories, academic researchers, government agencies, and consumer advocates work together to define best practices. What makes these standards particularly robust is their foundation in consensus-building – each standard must achieve substantial agreement among participating stakeholders before publication. This rigorous approach ensures standards reflect both current technical capabilities and market needs, while incorporating critical safety considerations from multiple perspectives.