New laws to protect consumers from cyber criminals come into force in the UK
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From today, regulations enforcing consumer protections against hacking and cyber-attacks will take effect, mandating that internet-connected smart devices meet minimum-security standards by law.
Consumer protections against hacking and cyber-attacks will come into force today, as all internet connected smart devices will be required by law to meet minimum-security standards.
Manufacturers will be legally required to protect consumers from hackers and cyber criminals from accessing devices with internet or network connectivity - from smartphones to games consoles and connected fridges - as the UK becomes the first country in the world to introduce these laws.
Under the new regime, manufacturers will be banned from having weak, easily guessable default passwords like ‘admin’ or ‘12345’ and if there is a common password the user will be promoted to change it on start-up. This will help prevent threats like the damaging Mirai attack in 2016 which saw 300,000 smart products compromised due to weak security features and used to attack major internet platforms and services, leaving much of the US East Coast without internet. Since then, similar attacks have occurred on UK banks including Lloyds and RBS leading to disruption to customers.
