Security News > 2020 > June > UK.gov dangles £400k over makers of IoT Things: Go on, let's see how you'd make a security cert scheme

British companies have been offered access to a £400k pot of cash to design a UK-specific "Kitemark" assurance scheme for Internet of Things products.

The government grant scheme is intended to complement previous announcements, making it a legal requirement that IoT devices ship with unique, non-default passwords and for vendors to "Explicitly state" for how long security updates will be published.

Referring to an "Assurance label or kitemark," the detailed government guidance on the new grant scheme said: "In a sector where consumers overwhelmingly assume that devices are secure because they are for sale, these assurance schemes are vital in enabling consumers to make security-conscious purchasing decisions."

He said, in a statement: "This comes at a time when IoT seems to have been forgotten about, yet funding to support the security of such devices couldn't be more vital Hopefully this will be the beginning of more funding as I'm not sure how far this initial input will go."

More information about the grants, including details of how to apply, are available on GOV.UK. Internet of Things devices are, as Reg readers know, broadly speaking, smart gadgets.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2020/06/01/ukgov_iot_kitemark_cash_grants/