Internet of Things governance “might be defined carefully...

Internet of Things governance “might be defined carefully with two objectives in line to maintain customer trust: Security and privacy,” said European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) Smart M2M (machine-to-machine) Chairman Marylin Arndt in an email over the weekend. Arndt, the standards manager for wireless carrier Orange, will speak at a panel Tuesday at the IoT Europe summit in Brussels (CD March 3 p15). The session will compare the two approaches to IoT governance: Standards vs. policy and, if regulation is needed, at what level it should be implemented, she said. ETSI and now oneM2M -- the website of which says its goal is to develop technical specifications to address the need for a common M2M service layer that can be easily embedded in hardware and software to connect devices -- are working on standards based on the existence of a horizontal service platform which has application programming interfaces, is network-centric, and is independent from device connectivity and business vertical applications, she said. The platform will provide interoperability at three interfaces, she said: South (toward and from the devices); north (toward and from the applications); and middleware (above the device or gateway operating system). Different customized service layers will then co-exist on the service platform, and a guidelines and best practices book will define how data can be exchanged and shared with other applications, Arndt said. There will be a common semantic that allows higher-layer applications to be easily defined on top of the service layer, she said. The service layer with its tools and the abstracted layer with semantics could be considered “global” standards, which must be open and interoperable, in contrast with “dedicated” standards that are often closed and don’t allow networking, she said. ETSI M2M and oneM2M have now defined global standards, the first step toward such standards for the IoT, she said. Regulators will have to set rules for such things as common data models and command language for the home and building environment, and ensure that best practices respect privacy, she said. Governments will apply the rules allowing end-to-end security for IoT autonomous communication and data treatment, said Arndt. She said IoT governance will “probably be a balance between interoperable standards and policies.” The U.S. and European approaches to IoT development differ but are complementary, speakers said Monday at the meeting. (See separate report in this issue.)