Reed Smith LLP

The Cyber Shield Act of 2017 is one of the more recent manifestations of the federal government’s increasingly urgent scrutiny over the security of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. This latest proposal, introduced in both houses of Congress on October 26–27, 2017, creates a voluntary compliance framework, whereby participating businesses can submit their devices to a standardized security review for scoring and labeling. The bill adopts a similar theory behind the LEED certification system for a building’s environmental performance. It aims to incentivize businesses to participate in the rating system as a means to market their devices’ security features. The thought is that consumers armed with this information will demonstrate a preference for higher-rated devices, which will incentivize other manufacturers to also secure a high score. Though not without critics, most notably for its voluntary nature, cybersecurity analysts are watching the bill’s progress closely to see what impact it will have on the larger landscape of IoT device regulation.