This is big news. Consumer Reports (CR) is going to start rating how well connected products protect consumers from cyber threats.
Up until now, there has been no incentive for manufactures to expend resources securing their products that connect to the Internet (IoT - Internet of Things). Consequently, routers, refrigerators, thermostats, kids' toys, baby monitors, DVRs and a whole host of other products - not to mention actual computing devices - have become targets for the bad guys to exploit then used to commit cyber attacks against consumers.
What is nice about this effort is CR is leading a group called The Digital Standard who will be developing the methodologies used for testing. And you can join this group and provide input. :)
Once CR and The Digital Standard group gets their methodologies sorted out (so company lawyers and marketing teams for down-rated products and companies cannot contest the findings) this should really be good for consumers. If CR finds a product fails to meet "The Digital Standard", that product will be down rated. And that will hit their bottom line. Then they will start paying attention. :)
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For those not familiar with Consumer Reports, they are a non-profit organization dedicated to unbiased reviews and consumer protection. But they are not just a non-profit organization.
Their publications contain no advertising so none of their product or services reviews can be influenced by advertising money, or even have the appearance of any influence. So you won't see a big ad for the top rated product opposite the review results as you might in other review magazines.
CR sends "secret shoppers" to local retailers around the country to buy the product right off the shelf or car lot - just as you, me and normal consumers do. This avoids manufacturers sending a cherry picked sample that has been specially optimized just for the review testing.
They test over days, weeks or even longer to see how well a product holds up. They often simulate years of use for products like mattresses and lawn mowers, etc.
They conduct annual surveys of their millions of subscribers to see how well specific products have held up. This massive sampling eliminates the problem of some "user reviews" where products are down-rated because UPS delivered it next door, the box looked like it fell off the FedEx truck, it was the wrong color, or the Post Office delivered it a day late.
CR also lobbies Congress, the Food and Drug Administration, and various consumer protection agencies to get bad/unsafe products off the market, or laws put in place that protect the consumer.
Up until now, there has been no incentive for manufactures to expend resources securing their products that connect to the Internet (IoT - Internet of Things). Consequently, routers, refrigerators, thermostats, kids' toys, baby monitors, DVRs and a whole host of other products - not to mention actual computing devices - have become targets for the bad guys to exploit then used to commit cyber attacks against consumers.
What is nice about this effort is CR is leading a group called The Digital Standard who will be developing the methodologies used for testing. And you can join this group and provide input. :)
Once CR and The Digital Standard group gets their methodologies sorted out (so company lawyers and marketing teams for down-rated products and companies cannot contest the findings) this should really be good for consumers. If CR finds a product fails to meet "The Digital Standard", that product will be down rated. And that will hit their bottom line. Then they will start paying attention. :)
***
For those not familiar with Consumer Reports, they are a non-profit organization dedicated to unbiased reviews and consumer protection. But they are not just a non-profit organization.
Their publications contain no advertising so none of their product or services reviews can be influenced by advertising money, or even have the appearance of any influence. So you won't see a big ad for the top rated product opposite the review results as you might in other review magazines.
CR sends "secret shoppers" to local retailers around the country to buy the product right off the shelf or car lot - just as you, me and normal consumers do. This avoids manufacturers sending a cherry picked sample that has been specially optimized just for the review testing.
They test over days, weeks or even longer to see how well a product holds up. They often simulate years of use for products like mattresses and lawn mowers, etc.
They conduct annual surveys of their millions of subscribers to see how well specific products have held up. This massive sampling eliminates the problem of some "user reviews" where products are down-rated because UPS delivered it next door, the box looked like it fell off the FedEx truck, it was the wrong color, or the Post Office delivered it a day late.
CR also lobbies Congress, the Food and Drug Administration, and various consumer protection agencies to get bad/unsafe products off the market, or laws put in place that protect the consumer.