IGF 2022 Town Hall #110 Security Meets Responsibility: Connected Everything’s Resilience

The Internet of things (IoT) has expanded substantially from consumer electronics to energy management, autonomous transport to environmental control. Connecting the multitude of objects surrounding us is both a technology challenge and a political challenge. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown the world the essential role of the Internet in our daily lives and the need to stay connected.

The networks, while under increased stress, have held up and the Internet has proven to be resilient. Nevertheless, as digital products and services continue to evolve and expand to create “the connected everything”, building trust is as important as building new infrastructure.

On the one hand, with the emergence of new technologies such as 5G, new paradigms appear that require a more comprehensive understanding of resilience, security and sovereignty. Connected products and services bring great potential for improving health, running businesses more efficiently, and driving economic development and growth worldwide. On the other hand, with great opportunities come great risks and an increased demand for protection.

Facing increased scrutiny, governments are promoting new legislation affecting the Internet worldwide. As an example, in the European Union, major legislative packages have been introduced, including the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the Cyber Resilience Act as well as the revision of the Network and Information system security (NIS) Directive. Cybersecurity and resilience of the IT ecosystem have been of paramount importance. EU Commission’s President Von der Leyen in the State of the Union 2021 underlined that the EU should aim at becoming a leader in cybersecurity from cables to IoT devices and the connected everything. In the US, following NIST - and NIST IoT-specific guidance, the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2020 has a growing impact on manufacturing of IoT devices. The drive toward data protection and security meet responsibility in order to foster a trusted IoT ecosystem, from cybersecurity by design to Human Right by default.

The workshop fits in several work streams of partner institutions including reports which analyse the industrial and regulatory issues entailed in the development of the Internet of Things (Afnic, ISN, 2021) (France Stratégie, 2022) and initiatives to promote IoT Security such as Internet Society IoT security Platform or OECD digital security of products.

Policy Question(s): Cybersecurity practices and mechanisms: What are the existing responsible cybersecurity practices and international mechanisms? Where do those mechanisms fall short and what can we do to improve their inclusion in product development and distribution? Ensuring a responsible digital space: How must governments, businesses and other stakeholders protect individuals against online exploitation and abuse? Regulation, competition and innovation: How could formal and self-regulatory frameworks help foster more competitive markets for connected services, more sustainable business models, and inclusive innovation?

Expected Outcomes: The workshop aims at discussing the challenges that the Internet of Things pose to fundamental rights and freedoms. The evolution of the digital public space is a key building block of digital policies by considering both local and global levels. At the end of the session, the moderator will engage in a discussion about the opportunities different stakeholders have to impact on national and global rulesets. The session report will and draw inputs from the discussion and key takeaways. This workshop intends to achieve a discussion between key stakeholders and a shared understanding of policy issues in order to grasp the impact of a dedicated body of rules (guidelines, legislation, standards, etc.) on increasing the trust in connected products and services while preserving fundamental rights and freedoms. The workshop fits in several work streams of partner institutions.

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