Shaping connected home security standards

The world-leading Finnish cyber security company has made the move in order to help shape Connected Home standards of the future as the explosion of home-based connected devices brings both challenges and opportunities for consumers.

“The challenge is how do we work together to mitigate against new vulnerabilities? The opportunity is to create new services for our customers that both protect their data, and their privacy,” said Paul Palmer, Director of Business Development at F-Secure Corporation. “It is the responsibility of all of us in our industry to keep our users safe. Strong collaboration is the key, and organisations like Broadband Forum have the power to bring together an ecosystem that finds the right solutions.”

Broadband Forum is at the forefront of driving standards around Connected Home and security through its initiatives such as the User Services Platform (USP). First published in April 2018, the User Services Platform – an evolution of the TR-069 standard that has been installed in over one billion homes globally – is Broadband Forum’s solution for service providers looking for a truly unified, common approach to securely deploy, manage, and control network-aware consumer electronics, including home and enterprise WiFi, the internet of things, and more.

Robin Mersh, Chief Executive Officer of Broadband Forum, added: “Security has emerged as a top-of-mind issue for service providers as they grapple with an explosion of broadband-ready devices seeking to connect to their networks and a heightened sensitivity to data privacy. 

“As USP takes the baton from TR-069 and defines the user experience and management paradigm for the next 1 billion broadband installations, it is crucial that global leaders in security provide their expertise and guidance. F-Secure is a welcome addition to our membership that is shaping the future of broadband, and we look forward to its contributions and innovation as we address head-on the security challenges that stand in the way of achieving the promise of a world-class Connected Home experience.”

F-Secure currently partners with over 200 communication service providers around the world, making it the largest such ecosystem of security conscious operators in the world, and affording F-Secure a unique position to understand and experience the multitude of issues and challenges, and their remedies, for all types of operators in all corners of the world.

Steve Taylor, Vice President at F-Secure Corporation, said: “The complexity of today’s cyber security threat, and our experience of over 20 years of focusing on communication service providers as our main channel to market, allows us not only to build proven holistic solutions, but also to share our experience and advice within bodies such as Broadband Forum so that security becomes a forethought rather than an afterthought.”