The Free Market Won’t Fix Botnets, Government Report Says

BeeBright/Shutterstock.com

The government should create incentives for good security in the internet of things.

The current booming market for internet-connected devices, such as cameras, thermostats and home assistants, doesn’t sufficiently incentivize companies to secure their smart products or penalize them when those products are breached, according to a draft report released Friday by the Commerce and Homeland Security departments.

The result is that connected devices are easy prey for hackers who can recruit them into armies of zombie computers known as botnets. Those botnets, in turn, can force websites and services offline by spraying them with overwhelming traffic.

Cyber watchers have long complained that so-called internet of things devices are frequently difficult to patch when manufacturers discover new vulnerabilities in their software. They’re also frequently not secured by passwords or outfitted with default passwords.

That problem isn’t going to get better on its own, according to the draft report, which is scheduled to reach President Donald Trump’s desk later this year.

“Market incentives motivate product developers, manufacturers, and vendors to minimize cost and time to market, rather than to build in security or offer efficient security updates,” the report states, adding that “there has to be a better balance between security and convenience when developing products.”

For the most part, however, that “better balance,” does not include regulators imposing new burdens on connected device manufacturers, according to the 68-page report.

Instead, the government should create market incentives that increase return on investment or lower costs for industries that adopt better security practices, the report states.

Government should also urge industry to adopt security baselines for connected devices and promote those baselines internationally through bilateral agreements with other nations, the report states.

The report does envision regulators, such as the Federal Trade Commission and Food and Drug Administration, taking enforcement actions against companies that fail to meet established security benchmarks or that falsely advertise that their products are more secure than they are.

Those recommendations are in line with previous government cybersecurity reports, which have generally shied away from promoting direct regulation.

The report responds to a directive in the president’s March executive order on cybersecurity.

It was compiled through a series of meetings and public comment calls by Homeland Security’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, and Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration and National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The report is open for public comment for 30 days.

The report also recommends that:

  • The connected device industry should create a voluntary labeling system to tell consumers which devices have been vetted and deemed secure.
  • Industry should develop a similar labeling scheme for internet-powered devices that run industrial control systems, such as dams and energy storage and distribution systems.
  • The government should perform targeted research to make software coding more secure and sponsor competitions for researchers to create secure software development systems.
  • The government should also establish a public awareness campaign to help consumers understand the importance of connected device security.
  • The federal government “should lead by example” by demonstrating the practicality of security tools it wants industry to adopt.
  • The connected device industry should aim to “maximize security while reducing or eliminating security knowledge requirements” for the consumers who buy their products.
  • Internet service providers should share more cyber threat information with each other, both domestically and internationally, to stem botnets before they cause damage.
  • ISPs should also share more information with law enforcement officials so they can more readily disrupt botnets.

NEXT STORY: Tips for Using Your New iPhone X

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.