IoT security rises up US regulatory agenda

Significance

The cybersecurity of consumer IoT devices has been a serious concern ever since the 2016 distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks launched through the Mirai botnet exploited thousands of compromised insecure IoT devices, including routers and security cameras.

Impacts

• IoT device manufacturers will be increasingly obliged -- via laws or regulatory pressure -- to invest more heavily in security efforts.
• Consumers will be given much more information about the security of IoT devices, raising overall public cybersecurity awareness.
• Legacy IoT devices without cybersecurity safeguards will become prime hacking targets.