Legal basis and underlying standard

The IT Security Label is issued on the basis of § 9c BSI Gesetz (BSI Act).

The European standard ETSI EN 303 645 defines basic security requirements for smart consumer devices. The BSI publishes product categories based on this standard and for which an IT Security Label can be applied for. Manufacturers can obtain the IT Security Label if they assure the conformity of their product with this standard in accordance with the associated test specification ETSI TS 103 701 and BSI TR-03173. The manufacturer's declaration for the product categories based on this standard can be found here.

The following list provides a simplified overview of the security characteristics assured by the manufacturer.

Detailed descriptions of the mandatory, recommended and conditionally applicable requirements can be found in the underlying standard ETSI EN 303 645, the associated test specification ETSI TS 103 701 and the national supplementary document BSI TR-03173.

Information on the assured device properties

1. Transparency

The manufacturer assures to provide the consumer with information regarding the security of the product.

These include in particular:

• The publication of a guideline for dealing with discovered vulnerabilities, which must include, among other things, contact information for an appropriate reporting office.
• The list of built-in sensors such as cameras or microphones, which may also record data unnoticed.

2. Access control

The manufacturer declares to have implemented mechanisms that protect the product from unauthorized access, such as password, PIN or electronic key.

This includes, for example:

• The use of sufficiently strong passwords that are individual for each product, provided that so-called standard passwords are used.
• The use of cryptography that corresponds to the current state of the art. Cryptographic methods are used, for example, to ensure that the data used is protected against manipulation.
• Access control that prevents unauthorized changes to the device settings via a network.
• No use of security information that is hard-coded into the device, such as passwords. This means that such security information must also be individual in identical models. If an attack on one single device succeeds, this prevents that the attack is applicable to other products of the same model series.

3. Secure communication

The manufacturer assures that the communication links of the product are cryptographically secured according to the current state of the art.

This includes in particular:

• Securing the communication (e.g. with the internet or another device), both wired and wireless. The purpose of the communication, the content of the transmitted data and the recipients involved are taken into account for appropriate protection.
• The protection of the confidentiality of personal data and security parameters which are transmitted to external services that may be offered by third parties.

4. Updates

The manufacturer assures to keep his product up to date using secure procedures.

This concerns in particular:

• The timely provision of security updates.
• The use of technical means to check, before installing an update, that the update package origins from a reliable source and has not been manipulated.

5. Usability

The manufacturer assures to design its security mechanisms in a user-friendly way.

This includes in particular:

• A simple reset mechanism which deletes all stored data and settings.
• The option for users to easily change their credentials such as passwords and PINs.
• Making it as easy as possible to perform updates so that no advanced knowledge is needed to keep the device up-to-date.

6. Securing of interfaces

The manufacturer assures to protect the interfaces of its product.

This includes, for example:

• The deactivation of interfaces if they are no longer in use.
• The checking of input data for harmful content, such as malicious codes.