The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has appointed 16 experts to support a new Internet of Things Advisory Board (IoTAB), which will advise the Internet of Things Federal Working Group (IoTFWG) on issues that promote or may impede the development of IoT. Members include professionals from ANSI members the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), Microsoft, and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), among other organizations representing academia, industry, and civil society.
The IoTAB was formed in response to Executive Order (EO) 14028 on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity. Issued in May 2021, the EO emphasizes the administration’s top priority to support prevention, detection, assessment, and remediation of cyber incidents essential to national and economic security. To support the EO priorities, the administration tasked multiple agencies—including NIST— “with enhancing cybersecurity through a variety of initiatives, but with a specific focus on the security and integrity of the software supply chain.”
To support NIST’s goals in response to the EO, ANSI encouraged stakeholders to submit nominations for appointments to the IoTAB in early 2022.
Goals for the New IoT Advisory Board
The advisory board will apprise the IoTFWG on the identification of any federal regulations, statutes, grant practices, programs, budgetary or jurisdictional challenges, and other sector-specific policies that are inhibiting, or could inhibit, the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), as well as situations in which the use of the IoT is likely to deliver significant and scalable economic and societal benefits to the United States, including benefits from or to:
The board will also report on policies, programs, or multi-stakeholder activities that promote or are related to the privacy of individuals who use or are affected by IoT, among other objectives.
Read more on committee goals in the January 13, 2022, Federal Register notice.
Current Standardization Work in IoT
A number of standards developing organizations support standardization work in the field of IoT. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/ International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Joint Technical Committee (JTC) 1, Information Technology, develops standards that support information and communications technology advancement across multiple industry sectors, including IoT under its Subcommittee 41, Internet of Things and related technologies. The U.S. plays a leading role in JTC 1, with ANSI serving as Secretariat and Phil Wennblom of Intel serving as chair.
INCITS, the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards, an ANSI member and accredited standards developer, serves as the administrator for the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to ISO JTC 1, and also develops standards that support IoT security.
Among other ANSI member standardization efforts that support IoT:
Additionally, a number of other standards developing organizations help to support the EO through cybersecurity standards.
Read the NIST news item: U.S. Department of Commerce Appoints Members for New Internet of Things Advisory Board.
Read related news:
White House Event Advances National Cybersecurity Labeling Program for IoT Devices