Sens Warner, Gardner think the government has a new cybersecurity problem: The Internet of Things

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When hackers took aim at the internet’s backbone in 2016, impeding access to websites like Twitter and Spotify, they did so by weaponizing the Internet of Things — a catch-all category of web-connected devices that includes fitness trackers and smart thermostats. The resulting denial-of-service attack was limited and short-lived, in the end, but cybersecurity fears about IoT remain prevalent — and a group of lawmakers in Congress is now getting to work to ensure the US government raises its own digital defenses in response. That’s the aim of a new bill out Aug 1 by Sens Mark Warner (D-VA) and Cory Gardner (R-CO).

Their measure — called the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2017 — is an attempt to force companies that sell wearables, sensors and other web-connected tools to federal agencies to adhere to some new security standards. For example, lawmakers’ new proposal would put into law a requirement that vendors ensure the small, often screenless devices sold to the US government can be patched with security updates. It also prohibits those tech companies from hard-coding passwords into the firmware of the tools they offer the feds.


Sens Warner, Gardner think the government has a new cybersecurity problem: The Internet of Things