FCC investigation could derail its own IoT security certification program

The U.S. government is embarking on an ambitious effort to create a cybersecurity seal of approval for Internet-of-Things devices, but the project faces a serious threat from the same agency that created it.

During the Biden administration, the Federal Communications Commission launched the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark program to much fanfare, with government officials and tech industry executives saying its certification process would transform the security of connected devices and make it much harder for hackers to exploit those devices for cyberattacks. But a few months after President Donald Trump took office, the FCC’s new Republican chairman launched an investigation of the company that the commission’s staff had just chosen to oversee the program, the veteran Illinois-based testing conglomerate UL Solutions, over its ties to China.

The FCC has said little about the investigation, and it is unclear how it is proceeding or even what specifically it is seeking to uncover in its probe. Those vagaries worry some cybersecurity experts and former Biden administration officials, who say a lengthy investigation could undermine the program and in turn prolong a dangerous state of affairs in cyberspace.

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