A security talent pool has been overly focused on protecting “highly replaceable credit card data”, while little is done to address threats to life and limb from the connected devices being placed in homes, hospitals and human bodies, often with no security at all.
“We’re trying to get to a point where the people designing, building and deploying digital infrastructure are more conscientious about the impact on human life,” says Joshua Corman, and reported by Al Jazeera.
One solution proposed during the Cavalry’s panel at the Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE) conference last month in New York City is increased legal liability for companies that deploy software to consumers. It would be a significant change — currently, the end-user license agreements consumers endorse before gaining access to software typically absolve companies of any responsibility for what happens as a result.
The mission is still in its infancy, but Corman says that headway has been made. He describes another group of researchers that had been demanding protection from the CFAA, unsuccessfully. But when the Cavalry emphasized the greater need for public safety in consumer technology, Congress and staffers were much more receptive.
