As per the new law made by the UK government, all internet-connected devices will be banned from coming with weak and easily guessable default passwords like “admin” or “12345” and if there is a common password, the user will have to be prompted to change it as soon as it starts. As per the statement, this step has been taken to prevent threats like the Mirai attack that occurred in 2016, and 300,000 smart products were compromised due to weak security.
An investigation conducted by Which? consumer group found in its findings that UK homes with smart devices are prone to more than 12,000 hacking attacks from across the world in a single week, with a total of 2,684 attempts to guess weak default passwords on just five devices. “From today, consumers will have greater peace of mind that their smart devices are protected from cyber criminals, as we introduce world-first laws that will make sure their personal privacy, data and finances are safe,” said UK Minister for Cyber Viscount Camrose, Jonathan Berry.
“Our pledge to establish the UK as the global standard for online safety takes a big step forward with these regulations, moving us closer to our goal of a digitally secure future,” said UK Data and Digital Infrastructure Minister Julia Lopez. This law has not only been pitched based on enhanced security but also on growing business that will be the result of an increase in confidence in buying and using smart devices. The notable point is, that the UK is not the biggest manufacturer of such devices nor is Europe, so the growing business thing still hard to gulp.
