UK MPs to Debate Landmark IoT Security Law

upstart writes:

MPs to debate landmark IoT security law:

The proposed Product Security and Telecoms Infrastructure Bill will receive its second reading in the House of Commons today in a debate to be opened by current digital secretary Nadine Dorries, as it takes a significant step forward towards becoming law.

The bill - which mandates improved cyber protections for smartphones and other smart or connected internet of things (IoT) devices - has been years in the making. Its scope has expanded over time to include new provisions that will supposedly spur the roll-out of full-fibre broadband services by making it easier for operators to upgrade and share infrastructure, and reform the process of how they go about negotiating with landowners to whose property they need access.

At its core it places strict new requirements on the manufacturers and retailers of connected consumer technology, banning easy-to-guess default passwords programmed onto devices, creating a vulnerability-reporting system, and forcing manufacturers to be upfront about how long their products will receive security updates.

Failure to comply could result in fines of up to 10m, or 4% of global turnover, and up to 20,000 for every day in the case of ongoing breaches.

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