House Communications Subcommittee hearing on Understanding Role of Connected Devices in Recent Cyberattacks

The House Communications Subcommittee, Chaired by Rep Greg Walden (R-OR) and the Trade Subcommittee held a hearing examining the recent series of Internet of Things (IoT) connected device-based distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.

In Oct, hackers leveraged a DDoS attack against global Internet routing company Dyn that resulted in thousands of consumers being unable to connect with Netflix, Twitter, CNN, and other well-known websites. It’s estimated that 50 billion devices will be connected to the Internet by 2020 and as this number grows, so too do the risks. Members continued the committee’s long track record of examining emerging cybersecurity threats and their impact on consumers and the economy while looking at what can be done to mitigate future attacks and risks.

“The knee-jerk reaction might be to regulate the Internet of Things, and while I am not taking that off the table, the question is whether we need a more holistic solution,” said Chairman Walden. “The United States can’t regulate the world," he warned.