Smart device manufacturers need to do a much better job of informing users about how long their products will receive software updates to ensure that they continue to defend against security threats and operate properly, according to new research from the U.S. Federal Tade Commission (FTC).
The FTC paper, developed by the agency’s East Central Regional Office, looks at 184 different smart products ranging from hearing aids to security cameras to door locks, about how long companies would provide updates for those products. Failure to continue to provide updates may break some functionality, or worse, leave products without critical security updates.
According to the FTC, 89% of those products surveyed failed to disclose on their websites how long they would get those updates. FTC staff reviewed product webpages for detailed information, but 161 of the products surveyed didn’t have information about the support duration or end date. This is in start contrast to the enterprise tech sector, where manufacturers and developers typically have that information available.
Other internet searches for support duration and end dates did not uncover information for two-thirds of the devices surveyed, according to the FTC.
Software updates not only provide more features and functionality, but often also protect against security vulnerabilities that researchers or the manufacturers uncover, which can often be plentiful in IoT devices. Those vulnerabilities must be publicly disclosed, which also gives hackers the opportunity to investigate those devices and exploit those security lapses, making these updates extremely important.
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The end of support for a device could also simply make the device just a useless piece of hardware.
Of the 184 product webpages surveyed, just 21 disclosed the software duration or end date, but some also used ambiguous language that only implies the level of support provided. In addition, the FTC says it had trouble finding the product release date, which could impact a consumer’s purchasing decisions.
There was also sometimes inconsistent information between Google searches and the product webpages, with different end of support dates.
According to the FTC, failure to disclose the duration of their software support may put manufacturers at odds with the law, specifically the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, which requires that written warranties on consumer products costing more than $15 be made available to consumers prior to sale, and that warranties disclose several things, including “a clear description and identification of products, or parts, or characteristics, or components or properties covered by and where necessary for clarification, excluded from the warranty.”
Manufacturers could further violate laws by marketing a product as having certain features and then failing to provide updates to keep those features functional, the FTC says in the report.
“Thus, if a manufacturer makes an express or implied representation regarding how long the product will function or be useable, it may be a deceptive practice if the manufacturer fails to disclose how long it will provide necessary software updates,” the report reads.
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