WASHINGTON, D.C. —\u00a0U.S. Representative Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green) spoke at a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing on Wednesday about the susceptibility of Internet of Things (IoT) devices to hacking in light of the recent Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack that caused large Internet outages.<\/p>\n
The subcommittee hearing, entitled\u00a0\u201cUnderstanding the Role of Connected Devices in Recent Cyber Attacks,\u201d\u00a0aimed to address weaknesses in cyber infrastructure that allowed hackers to commandeer connected security cameras and other devices to launch an attack on October 21. The attack shut down access to numerous websites over several hours.<\/p>\n
Latta serves as co-chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee\u2019s Internet of\u00a0Things Working Group and has heard from representatives\u00a0in a number of different industries about potential cybersecurity concerns with the Internet of\u00a0Things.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo fully realize the benefits available from\u00a0the\u00a0Internet of\u00a0Things, we must address\u00a0the reality that bad actors\u00a0— whether\u00a0foreign\u00a0governments or domestic hackers\u00a0—\u00a0are trying to exploit this technology to cause harm,\u201d Latta said about the hearing. \u201cThe recent DDoS attack should serve as a wake-up call that our systems are susceptible to attempts to use IoT devices to wreak havoc.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile there are safeguards in place with newer technology, today\u2019s hearing was very beneficial as we work to address challenges and vulnerabilities with the Internet of Things,\u201d Latta added.<\/p>\n