Senators propose cybersecurity bill for IoT devices
Congress wants to fix the notorious security problems associated with the internet of things — at least for themselves.
On Tuesday, Sens. Mark Warner, Cory Gardner, Ron Wyden and Steve Daines introduced the “Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act,” (PDF) a bill that would force tech companies to ramp up security if they want to sell connected devices to the federal government.
Security on internet-connected devices hasn’t kept pace with a market that is expected to grow to 20.4 billion IoT devices globally by 2020. Gadget designers to tend to make IoT devices as simple as possible, which can often mean sacrificing security.
The trade-off has meant that thousands of IoT devices — everything from connected security cameras to sex toys to baby monitors — can easily be hacked. The senators’ proposed bill aims to ensure vulnerable devices aren’t used by the federal government. Read more…