Security News > 2020 > January > IoT security? We've heard of it, says UK.gov waving new regs
The British government has finally woken up to the relatively lax security of IoT devices, and is lurching forward with legislation to make gadgets connected to the web more secure.
The Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said it will require makers of IoT hardware to ship devices with unique passwords that cannot be reset to a factory default setting.
"Our new law will hold firms manufacturing and selling internet-connected devices to account and stop hackers threatening people's privacy and safety," digital Minister Matt Warman - a former Telegraph hack - said in a statement.
"The result of the consultation show strong support for regulation of the wild west that is IoT security," said Ken Munro, a security researcher at infosec firm Pen Test Partners.
"If manufacturers require consumers to setup new passwords at product installation, these individuals will need to manage these passwords for each connected device," he told us.