Consumer Reports, a U.S. non-profit review group that conducts extensive reviews of everything from cars to appliances is going to begin evaluating products for online privacy and data security when scoring products.
“We’re now launching the first phase of a collaborative effort to create a new standard that safeguards consumers’ security and privacy — and we hope industry will use that standard when building and designing digital products such as connected devices, software, and mobile apps,” the organization said in a blog post on its website.
The group, which issues scores that rank products it reviews, said on Monday (March 06) that it had collaborated with privacy product company, Disconnect, nonprofit research project, Ranking Digital Rights and nonprofit software testing company, Cyber Independent Testing Lab to develop an industry standard for testing devices and studying how easily a product can be hacked and how securely customer data is stored, an initial version of which is posted online to solicit feedback.
"The goal is to help consumers understand which digital products do the most to protect their privacy and security, and give them the most control over their personal data," read the blog.
Consumer Reports will gradually implement the new methodologies, starting with test projects that evaluate small numbers of products, Maria Rerecich, the organization's director of electronics testing, said in a phone interview.
The reviews will be added in the reports over time, after having a lot of refinements, added Rerecich.
The organization has posted the standard as a public document online and wants members of the technology community to offer feedback.
Concerns over the safety and privacy of personal data have arisen in recent years following a wave of hacks.
The effort follows a surge in cyber attacks leveraging easy-to-exploit vulnerabilities in webcams, routers, digital video recorders and other connected devices, which are also collectively referred to as the internet of things (IoT).
In one high-profile October attack, hackers used a piece of software known as Mirai to cripple an internet infrastructure provider, blocking access to PayPal, Spotify, Twitter and dozens of other websites for hours. Another attack in November shut off internet access to some 900,000 Deutsche Telekom customers.
The IoT is expected to exacerbate the problem as more and more connected devices come online.