California's IoT law stirs debate over federal action on mitigating botnets

A former White House official says the federal government's next steps in combating botnets should include assigning liability to entities comprising the web of connected devices known as the Internet of Things, as a new law taking effect in California next January is adding urgency to both federal and private-sector efforts on the issue.

The pending California law has already prompted some in industry to join a federal government process on creating a voluntary framework for mitigating the threat of...