A new Product Security Verified (PSV) label will be used in the future to identify smart home devices that meet new industry standards designed to protect against hacking and data breaches. It's the latest initiative from the industry alliance behind the Matter standard, of which Apple is a member. The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) was first formed in 2019 to develop a standard that will enable smart home kits by different companies can work together seamlessly. Originally known as the CHIP Alliance, it was later renamed and the agreed standard was named Matter. Matter essentially does the same job as HomeKit: ensuring that different devices all work together and can be controlled by a single app (the Home app, in Apple's case). While HomeKit already met this need, it wasn't as widely supported as many of us had hoped. It was common for smart home devices to be marketed as compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant, but without HomeKit certification. Now that Matter is an industry standard, it's much easier to buy devices that can be controlled by Siri and the Home app.

Product Security Verified label

The CSA has now announced a new initiative, this time with a security focus. It follows a series of security flaws in smart home devices, particularly in the area of security cameras. The alliance says devices will only receive the label if they meet seven criteria:

• Unique identity for each IoT device
• No hardcoded default passwords
• Secure storage of sensitive data on the device
• Secure communication of security-relevant information
• Secure software updates throughout the support period
• Secure development process, including vulnerability management
• Public documentation on security, including the support period

The Verge reports that the goal is to make it easy for consumers to identify secure products. “Research consistently shows that consumers view security as a key driver for device purchases, but they don't know what to look for from a security perspective to make an informed purchasing decision,” said Eugene Liderman, director of mobile security strategy at Google, on The Edge. “Programs like this will give consumers a simple, easily recognizable indicator of what to look for.” It will take some time for manufacturers to get their products certified, but the hope is that the first PSV-labeled smart home device will be on the market before the end of the year.

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