FTC plans mobile security event for June 4
One-day event isn't intended to produce new regulations, but instead highlight "emerging mobile security threats and trends."
The Federal Trade Commission said today that it will convene a one-day event on security-related "threats to mobile devices."
The event, to be held on June 4 in the agency's Washington, D.C., conference center, will be the latest in a series of similar events that have focused on topics including online data collection and advertising. It's open to the public.
An announcement posted on the FTC's Web site says the event will likely include discussions of "emerging mobile security threats and trends, security challenges in the mobile environment and infrastructure, potential solutions to mobile threats, password and authentication strategies for lost or stolen devices..." The FTC has previously offered security tips to mobile developers.
Because the FTC is not a traditional regulatory agency, and because it has no direct statutory authority over computer security, the event is not intended to devise new standards or reach a consensus on industry best practices. (That's beyond the scope even of far larger events like the RSA Conference, which takes place next week in San Francisco.) Rather, it's designed to mark the agency's interest in the area and allow Washington officialdom to be briefed by security researchers.