Proposed IoT Cybersecurity Legislation Could Lead to Consumer Device Standards

In setting security standards for IoT devices sold to the federal government, the proposed bill may make it economically infeasible for IoT manufacturers to ignore cybersecurity best practices.

August 03, 2017 at 03:27 PM

4 minute read

By Rhys Dipshan

Less than a year after hackers hijacked internet-of-things (IoT) consumer devices to launch an unprecedented distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) in the United States and Europe, four U.S. senators have introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at securing future IoT devices used by the federal government.

Proposed by Sens. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, Cory Gardner, R-Colorado, Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and Steve Daines,R-Montana, “The Internet of Things (IoT) Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2017” sets baseline cybersecurity standards for IoT devices purchased by federal agencies.

The legislation does not address or mandate any security requirements for commercial IoT devices sold to consumers. However, many experts believe that if passed into the law, the bill would motivate many IoT manufacturers to adopt cybersecurity standards for devices for general consumers.