The United Kingdom (UK) Government has proposed a new law which, when passed, will entail all Internet of Things (IoT) consumers will need to adhere to specific security requirements, under new government proposals.
The aim is to help protect UK citizen and businesses from the threats posed by cyber criminals increasingly targeting IoT devices.
Writing about it on the UK Govt Website, Matt Warman MP, Minister for Digital and Broadband, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, said about the proposed UK IoT law, “We are advocating a robust and staged approach to enforcing these principles through regulation – starting with ensuring stronger security is built into products. But we will not stop there. When appropriate, we will advocate for further requirements to be mandated. I hope that this staged approach will provide manufacturers with sufficient time to implement the proposals effectively and sustainably. “
From December 2016 to February 2018, the UK Government had conducted a review in conjunction with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to identify proposals for improving the cyber security of consumer IoT products and associated services. The review came about because many ‘smart’ or internet-connected devices sold to consumers lack even basic cyber security safeguards.
The review sought to address two key risks:
1. How consumer security, privacy and safety is being undermined by the vulnerability of individual devices and
2. How the wider economy faces an increasing threat of large scale cyber attacks launched from large volumes of insecure IoT devices.
From 2016, after going through several more steps, the UK Government is now advocating a “staged approach” to regulation, starting with mandating the most important security requirements (i.e. the top three guidelines), to increase the basic level of security within products.
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