Broadband Stakeholders Eye Security, Privacy of IOT

The Broadband Internet Technical Advisory Group (BITAG), the nonprofit multistakeholder group focused on broadband network management issues, is working on a report on the technical side of security and privacy in the Internet of Things world.

The report will look at smart phones, tablets and computers, as well as the sensors and monitors being woven into the fabric of daily life.

"Some IoT devices are shipped with security flaws that can put end users at risk and negatively affect their Internet experience, for a variety of reasons," BITAG said in announcing the repot. "To address the technical issues underlying these security and privacy related concerns, BITAG’s technical working group will analyze this topic and issue a report that will describe the issue in depth, highlight technical observations, and suggest appropriate best practices.

Lead editors on the report, which is planned for the fall, will be Jason Livingood, VP of Internet services, for Comcast, and Nick Feamster, computer science professor at Princeton University.

The review will be chaired by BITAG executive director Douglas Sicker.

The announcement comes the same day the issue is getting a deep dive on Capitol Hill. "The Internet of Things: Modernizing Transportation and Infrastructure," is the subject of a hearing in the Senate Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.