The cybersecurity risks of Internet of Things (IoT) devices are well documented. In the absence of safety and cybersecurity regulations, credible performance standards represent our last line of defence to embed security into IoT devices at the operating level. However, no global standard has been set to address this issue.

The growing battle for technological supremacy between the United States and China is partly to blame for the current stalemate in global high-tech standards development. Recent legislative initiatives in the United States could spur the creation of a new regional market for cybersafe IoT devices for the military and for government operations through procurement, as opposed to new regulations.