FTC launches initiative to secure Internet of Things

The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday announced a new initiative aimed at creating technical solutions to help consumers protect their home Internet of Things devices from cybersecurity threats.

The “IoT Home Inspector Challenge” is a new contest for technology developers to create a tool that could help protect consumers from cybersecurity vulnerabilities caused by out-of-date software and factory default and easy-to-guess passwords.

“With this Contest, the FTC seeks to encourage the development of a technical tool to assist consumers with...