After years of work, Congress passes ‘internet of things’ cybersecurity bill — and it’s kind of a big deal

Congress last week did something that it rarely does: It passed a meaningful cybersecurity bill. The legislation is aimed at enhancing the safeguards of internet-connected devices — also known as the internet of things (IoT) — such as smart sensors that monitor water quality or control ships in waterway locks. The bill is also a major step toward the federal government encouraging vulnerability disclosure policies that implement programs for organizations to work with security researchers to fix software flaws. “It is arguably the most significant U.S. IoT-specific cybersecurity law to date, as well as the most significant law promoting coordinated vulnerability disclosure in the private sector to date,” said Harley Geiger, director of public policy at Rapid7, a cybersecurity company. All it took to get across the finish line was more than three years of bipartisan work, encroaching state and foreign government IoT rules, a ticking legislative clock, goodwill toward […]

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Congresswoman hopeful on IoT security legislation

The authors of draft legislation to impose security standards on Internet of Things devices purchased by the federal government are in listening mode for now, a senior Democratic congresswoman said Thursday. A discussion draft of the House version of the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2017 is out, Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois told the Dell Technologies Digital Transformation Summit produced by FedScoop. “We want the stakeholders at the table,” as the bill is tweaked, she told CyberScoop in a brief interview after her keynote address, referring to tech companies, security experts and business lobbyists. “We want to get [those views] so it can be developed in a broad bipartisan way,” she said. Kelly, who is the ranking member of the IT Subcommittee of the House Oversight panel, said the bill is intended as a companion measure to the similar bill introduced in August in the Senate. “It tracks […]

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