Consumer Reports is integrating cybersecurity and privacy standards into its review methodology, Reuters reports.
Consumer Reports collaborated with outside organizations — such as Cyber Independent Testing Lab — to develop the first draft of the security standards, which can be read at thedigitalstandard.org. The standards, which are meant to assess the security of devices in the Internet of Things, consider "how easily a product can be hacked and how well customer data is secured," according to Reuters.
The new methodology will not be implemented at once. Instead, it will be gradually rolled out, beginning with only a few products.
"This is a complicated area. There is going to be a lot of refinement to get this right," Maria Rerecich, director of electronics testing at Consumer Reports, told Reuters.