Submitted via IRC for Bytram
Weak passwords to be banned in California
Default passwords such as "admin" and "password" will be illegal for electronics firms to use in California from 2020.
The state has passed a law that sets higher security standards for net-connected devices made or sold in the region.
It demands that each gadget be given a unique password when it is made.
Before now, easy-to-guess passwords have helped some cyber-attacks spread more quickly and cause more harm.
The Information Privacy: Connected Devices bill demands that electronics manufacturers equip their products with "reasonable" security features.
This can mean a unique password or a start-up procedure that forces users to generate their own code when using the gadget for the first time.
The bill also allows customers who suffer harm when a company ignores the law to sue for damages.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Saturday October 06 2018, @04:41PM (1 child)
Thing is, that's not as stupid as it sounds. Let's say you're a bad guy who now has maybe 3 guesses to correctly say the code in the president's pocket.
Is "00000000" going to be something you're likely to try? Or are you going to think that there's no possible way they would have picked anything that stupid?
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 06 2018, @05:04PM
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2515598/Launch-code-US-nuclear-weapons-easy-00000000.html [dailymail.co.uk]