Washington, Jan. 6, 2017: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it was challenging the public to create an innovative tool that would help protect consumers from security vulnerabilities in the software of home devices connected to the Internet of Things (IoT).
The agency has offered cash prize of up to US $25,000 for the best technical solution, with up to $3,000 available for up to three honorable mention winner(s).
The FTC is asking IoT Home Inspector Challenge contestants to develop a tool that would address security vulnerabilities caused by out-of-date software in IoT devices. Then, the tool could be a physical device that the consumer could add to his or her home network that would check and install updates for other IoT devices on that home network, or it might be an app or cloud-based service, or a dashboard or other user interface. Contestants also had the option of adding features such as those that would address hard-coded, factory default or easy-to-guess passwords.
Submissions will be accepted as early as March 1, 2017 and are due May 22, 2017 at 12:00 p.m. EDT. Winners will be announced on or about July 27, 2017.
Up to 20 contestants will be selected in the first round, where judges will only assess the contestants’ videos and abstracts without the detailed explanation. Qualifying contestants will then move on to the next and final round where the detailed explanations will be considered for a chance to win the top prize of $25,000 or $3,000 for honorable mention.
An expert panel of five judges will judge the contest.
This the FTC’s fourth government contest under the America COMPETES Act, and the first one addressing IoT issues. In 2015, the FTC hosted robocall contests in partnership with Pindrop Security and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
Complete rules for the current contest are published in the Federal Register and available at: ftc.gov/IoTHomeInspector where you can find instructions and requirements regarding the registration and submission process. Contest information will also be posted on Challenge.gov, an online challenge platform administered by the US General Services Administration.
Image Credit: FTC