As Chair of ITU-T SG17 WP2, Jordan Will Spearhead Security Standards for IoT, Mobile, and Connected Ecosystems
LOS ALTOS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Afero, the leading IoT platform that enables connected devices to be smart and secure, today announced that its Chief Security Strategist, Bret Jordan, was appointed as Chair of a United Nations (UN) global security standards working party. In this role, Jordan will shape crucial international security standards that underpin emerging technologies such as IoT, smart cities, mobile technologies, autonomous vehicles, and more.
“Bret is uniquely suited for this distinction, having spent decades of his career at the intersection of security and standards,” said Joe Britt, CEO and Co-founder of Afero. “Connected devices and ecosystems are expanding to touch every aspect of our physical world, yet many of these products are brought to market so quickly that they lack the security and privacy features needed to keep people and organizations safe. In his new position, Bret will be a strong advocate for international IoT standards that will help keep our ‘smart’ future secure.”
Jordan will serve as Chair of Study Group 17 (SG17) Working Party 2 (WP2) of the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), the UN’s specialized agency for digital, information, and communication technologies. SG17 WP2 is responsible for defining global security standards for technologies and architectures for IoT, smart and connected ecosystems, smart cities, network architecture and security, international mobile technologies (5G and 6G), digital twins, metaverse, intelligence transport systems, and autonomous smart land and aerial vehicles.
According to Arnaud Taddei, Global Head of Security Strategy, Enterprise Security Group at Broadcom and Chair of ITU-T SG17, “Security finds itself at a crucial moment in history. As the threat landscape explodes, there has been a dramatic increase in the roles of regulation and standardization, which are also becoming more fragmented. SG17 is the lead study group for security at the standardization sector of the ITU-T and is ideally placed to provide game-changing recommendations to fix some of these challenges.”
Taddei continued, “As newly elected SG17 Chair for the UK, my primary objective is to modernize SG17 to give its full relevance back to the market, the industry, and the regulators. A key to the success of this transformation is the empowerment of its working party structure and chairs. Considering Bret Jordan’s confirmed experience in international standardization leadership – combined with his remarkably lucid and realistic overall vision for security and the end-to-end view of IoT security at the heart of Afero – made him the ideal candidate to chair ITU-T SG17 Working Party 2.”
“As Chair of SG17 Working Party 2, it will be my privilege to guide and lead the dedicated standardization professionals engaged in this critical work to secure our hyper-connected edge,” says Jordan. “ITU is the premier standards body that enables industry, governments, regulators, and civil society to come together to produce the core infrastructure and security standards that are needed to drive everything we do and ultimately enable the future. In this role, I will leverage my three decades of expertise in security and managing international standardization professionals to ensure ITU continues to produce high-quality global work products that can help secure this AI-enabled hyper-connected world for everyone.”
To learn more about the ITU, visit: https://www.itu.int/.
About ITU
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the UN’s specialized agency for digital, information, and communication technologies and is the oldest agency in the UN family. As an intergovernmental body responsible, inter alia, with establishing global standards, ITU began with the Dresden conference of 1850 and has been connecting the world since the dawn of the telegraph in 1865.
ITU is the leading standards-defining organization (SDO) and is made up of a membership from 194 member states and more than 1,000 companies, universities, and international and regional organizations. ITU is focused on defining standards across three key sectors ITU-T (Telecommunications), ITU-R (Radio), and ITU-D (Development) as well as being the convenor of several thematic topics, such as smart cities, intelligent transport systems, and AI for good.
About ITU-T SG17
SG17 of ITU-T focuses on defining global standards, frameworks, and solutions for how to secure telecommunication networks and ecosystems and coordinates security-related work across all ITU-T Study Groups, often working in cooperation with other SDOs and various ICT industry consortia. The first SG17 meeting of the new study period is being held in Geneva, Switzerland, from April 8-17, 2025.
About Afero
Afero is the leading IoT provider that enables connected devices to be smart and secure. Afero’s IoT Platform as a Service prioritizes security, data privacy, simplicity, and ease of use throughout the end user experience. These key elements are integral to the solution and not bolted on after the fact, enabling manufacturers and brands to secure their entire supply chain. Afero technology currently powers millions of devices across 200+ product categories from 50+ manufacturers, including from well known brands like Defiant, Hampton Bay and EcoSmart. Afero is a privately-held company based in Los Altos, Calif., and backed by distinguished investors such as Crosspoint Capital, among others. For more information, visit https://afero.io/.
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