With the increasing ubiquity of internet of things (IoT) devices and the vast expansion of the cyber attack surface that those devices create, National Security Agency (NSA) IoT Enterprise Functional Team Lead Arlene Santos is emphasizing the importance of the IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act reintroduced in Congress last month as way to address the cybersecurity concerns posed by rapid IoT device growth.
The bill, sponsored by Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Cory Gardner, R-Colo., aims to create and strengthen cybersecurity requirements for IoT devices purchased, used, and controlled by the Federal government.
The measure is having another chance at becoming law after a previous version first introduced in 2017 never made it out of Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Companion legislation has been introduced in the House by Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill.
The legislation would put the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in charge of identifying IoT cybersecurity standards, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) would issue subsequent guidance to Federal agencies. The prior version of the legislation specified that NIST would only…
