While we are increasingly aware of threats to our personal information, the reach of such threats really can be baffling. Who would have guessed that one day your refrigerator may put your identity information at risk? As the Internet of Things’ (IoT) reach continues to grow, so does the need to secure and protect identity and personal information. This is especially true as our cities are getting “smarter” – that is, becoming more connected as our devices “speak” to each other, sending data in real-time.

The range of IoT-connected devices includes everything from convenient smart toasters to life-preserving pacemakers. The ubiquity of these devices – and the accompanying volume of data and its accessibility – is changing how personal information is protected. Devices are becoming more connected, introducing new and unique challenges to privacy and security: an example of which was the recent denial of service attack launched by IoT devices serving as bots. However, users are not always aware of the connected devices’ vulnerabilities or how better to protect themselves against potential threats.

Convenience may drive the adoption of IoT devices, but there should be an awareness and understanding of related privacy and security risks – especially to allow devices and systems that are designed and developed to protect both individual users and the broader ecosystem. This requires a broad understanding of how systems are connected, the threats they face, and ways to integrate risk-mitigating controls. It also requires knowledge about the intersection of the device, the data it produces, and how that data may be accessed — with the users’ consent!

User authentication and access control lay at the heart of maintaining a convenient, secure, and safe IoT ecosystem. Standards and common frameworks are the building blocks that help to protect users from a device breach. In the rapidly evolving world of cybersecurity, it can be difficult for these documents to maintain pace. To advance this effort, Deloitte[1] has been working with commercial and federal sector clients to help them address these new challenges while identifying new opportunities to promote collaboration and cross-sector insights. This includes working with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to enable leading cyber practices to be incorporated into standards and frameworks.

NIST serves as the program office for the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC), a US Presidential initiative to develop technologies and market conditions that make online transactions more secure and privacy-enhancing. The NSTIC establishes principles for trusted identities — security, privacy, interoperability, and ease of use — and charts a path for public-private collaboration to deploy innovative identity technologies. The NSTIC’s principles and concepts apply widely to traditional identity and access management use cases, the IoT, and connected smart cities. Further, NIST worked with industry to develop the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), a voluntary security framework to improve cyber practices in critical infrastructure. As more IoT devices are developed and deployed, the scope of critical infrastructure can expand.

Recently, NIST has been supporting the development of standards and frameworks for IoT devices and smart cities through a series of programs and collaborations.

The Cyber-Physical Systems Public Working Group works to accelerate the development and implementation of cyber-physical (“smart”) systems within various sectors of the economy – including “personalized health care, emergency response, traffic flow management, and the electric power generation and delivery.” In May 2016, the group released the Framework for Cyber-Physical Systems.

NIST’s Smart Grid Program focuses on the safe modernization of electric power grids through incorporating information technology “to deliver electricity efficiently, reliably, sustainably, and securely.” Working with partners from government, industry and academia, they are developing the Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards and conducting research to further the smart grid’s development.

The NIST National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) released the draft paper Identity and Access Management for Smart Home Devices in June 2016. This paper is intended to initiate a conversation on authentication and authorization-related challenges in smart homes, as to establish practices for securing these devices.

Further, NIST is part of the international public working group developing the Smart City Framework to establish consensus and leading practices for solutions that address modern cities’ needs.

Timing could not be better, as two key events this week — World Standards Week and Meeting of the Minds — will focus on enabling greater dialogue between stakeholders, which can help advance standards for securing and protecting our increasingly connected world.

World Standards Week convenes standards professionals from a range of sectors for a series of events, with this year’s theme being “Standards Build Trust.” Such collaboration is necessary to develop commercially-viable standards. There are a variety of identity, security, and privacy standards – either existing or being developed – that enable the use of secure, interoperable digital identities and attributes that can be used across security domains, organizational boundaries, and devices. Among the many organizations promoting such standards are the FIDO Alliance, World Wide Web Consortium, OpenID Foundation and Internet Engineering Task Force.

The FIDO Alliance is working to change the nature of online authentication to develop “technical specifications that will define an open, scalable, interoperable set of mechanisms” as to decrease reliance on passwords for authentication. They further this goal by contributing technical specifications to recognized standards development organizations (such as NIST). FIDO could benefit IoT users as their promulgation of biometrics and tokens as authentication factors can reduce the complexity of maintaining multiple credentials for IoT devices.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international community developing open standards to “ensure the long-term growth of the Web” by defining an open web platform for application development to enable developers to build apps using large data stores and that would be available on any device. Their Web of Things Interest Group is a “forum for technical discussions to identify use cases and requirements for open markets of applications and services based upon the role of Web technologies.”

OpenID Foundation (OIDF) is a non-profit international standards organization comprised of companies and individuals who are committed to “enabling, promoting and protecting OpenID technologies.” Their 2015 Summit focused on “governance in Identity Ecosystem and the Internet of Things”

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) aims to improve the Internet by providing technical documents that “influence the way people design, use, and manage the Internet.” They have been addressing IoT devices since 2005, by “specifying and documenting key IoT standards and guidance.”

Meeting of the Minds is an innovative forum where security and privacy professionals, technology vendors, different levels of government, policy professionals, academics and advocacy groups will come together to discuss the challenges associated with building and growing smart cities. On Thursday, October 27th, Deloitte will facilitate a lunch-time dialog at which Meeting of the Minds participants can share their views on the types of guidance, frameworks, and reference material needed to improve the privacy and security of connected cities.

To protect our privacy and secure our increasingly connected world, it will take more than a village, and probably more than a nation! It will likely take an international effort with contributions from a broad range of stakeholders with different views, values, and opinions. Even if you cannot make it to Meeting of the Minds or a World Standards Week event, we encourage you to take the time to identify opportunities to engage with the organizations and communities advancing our understanding of IoT smart cities.

[1] As used in this document, “Deloitte” means Deloitte & Touche LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.