Arthur T Knackerbracket has found an interesting story over at The Register about regulating the security of IoT devices:
Washington DC think tank the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology is calling for regulation on "negligence" in the design of internet-of-things (IoT) devices.
Researchers James Scott and Drew Spaniel point out in their report Rise of the Machines: The Dyn Attack Was Just a Practice Run [PDF] that IoT represents a threat that is only beginning to be understood.
The pair say the risk that regulation could stifle market-making IoT innovation (like the WiFi cheater-detection mattress) is outweighed by the need to stop feeding Shodan.
"National IoT regulation and economic incentives that mandate security-by-design are worthwhile as best practices, but regulation development faces the challenge of ... security-by-design without stifling innovation, and remaining actionable, implementable and binding," Scott and Spaniel say.
[...] State level regulation would be "disastrous" to markets and consumers alike.
Does the ability of a company to make money now outweigh the security of our digital homes and devices?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Thexalon on Monday December 12 2016, @03:51PM
Not in his garage, obviously, but Elon Musk started a car company on about $10 million in the last decade, which isn't all that much in the world of business. And if you think "But that's different than the Good Old Days", you'd be wrong: Henry Ford needed a large investment by a lumber tycoon to get started. And if you think "But that's different from an innovative industry like computers", you're still wrong: Apple, for example, would have gone nowhere had Mike Markula not plowed millions into it while it was still operating out of a garage.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.