Ashburn, Va.-based nonprofit Advanced Technology Academic Research Center (ATARC) released Nov. 18 its report, “Government and the Internet of Things – Findings and Recommendations of the Internet of Things Innovation Lab,” a collaboration of government, industry and academia members who will tackle critical issues around IoT’s application to government.
“The ATARC Innovation Labs were conceived to address emerging technology issues, bringing together key stakeholders to identify and resolve those issues on which the success or failure of an initiative may depend,” ATARC Executive Director Mike Hettinger said. “IoT will have a big impact on the federal government, in ways that many of us haven’t even thought about yet. The work of the IoT Innovation Lab participants has shed important light on the key things that government needs to think about as IoT evolves.”
ATARC convened the IoT Innovation Lab for 10 weeks, beginning in late July 2015, under the leadership of Chairwoman Linda Garcia of Cisco, and Vice Chairmen Craig Ano of Samsung, and Bryan Schromsky and Mohammad Rehman of Verizon. The effort included more than 20 government and industry thought leaders, who participated in brainstorming sessions for the technical working group.
The IoT Innovation Lab focused on the application of IoT to government, while looking at what technologies are driving the growth of IoT. The Lab identified three challenge areas – privacy, cybersecurity and risk management.
The report makes five recommendations for government:
- Embrace the opportunity – IoT represents a smarter way of doing many of the things that government has been doing for years. Government must fully embrace the potential of IoT to improve the delivery of services and make government more efficient and effective.
- Educate – Government should embark on a mission to educate the general public and federal agencies on the benefits of IoT either through the development of a National Internet of Things Strategy or related policy.
- Avoid unnecessary regulation – Congress and the Executive Branch should avoid regulating the IoT in any manner that would serve to hinder the growth of or opportunity presented by IoT, instead focusing on promoting consensus based standards for IoT.
- Ensure privacy protections – Government has a critical role to play in ensuring that personal information is protected and should embrace the challenge, while keeping privacy policies up-to-date to reflect the realities of a connected world.
- Protect the IoT landscape – Government must promote policies that ensure the security of the IoT landscape and identify best practices, while encouraging technology development.
ATARC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides a collaborative forum for government, academia and industry to resolve emerging technology challenges. ATARC also introduces innovative technology from academic research labs to the federal government and private industry.
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