British government bans devices with weak passwords

Companies are legally obliged to protect their devices from cyber criminals. Smartphones with insecure passwords must be reported in future.

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May 1, 2024 at 4:04 pm CEST

2 min. read

By

Hendrik Vatheuer

This article was originally published in German and has been automatically translated.

From smartphones and televisions to smart doorbells – technical devices with weak passwords will be banned in the UK. A new law, which comes into force today, April 29, stipulates that all smart devices must meet certain security standards, making particularly weak passwords such as "123456789.", "hello." or "password" a thing of the past.

Specifically, manufacturers of internet-enabled devices are now legally obliged to ask their users to change simple and widely used passwords. To ensure that devices are better protected from cybercriminals in future and that errors and problems can be reported, manufacturers must publish contact details and make their security update schedules transparent.

Strengthening consumer protection and trust

According to the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the laws will come into force on Monday as part of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act (PSTI). The British government hopes that the new measures will provide better protection against cyberattacks and increase the UK's resistance to cybercrime. On the other hand, consumer confidence in the use of smart products should increase.

UK Minister for Science and Technology, Jonathan Berry, said: "From today, consumers can be confident that their smart devices are protected from cyber criminals as we introduce the world's first laws to keep their privacy, data and finances safe. We are committed to making the UK the safest place in the world to be online."

Positive feedback from NGOs

In addition to the British government, the consumer protection organization Which?, which had been instrumental in promoting the new measures, also gave a positive response to the law. Rocio Concha, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Which?, said: "The OPSS [Office for Product Safety and Standards] must provide clear guidance to industry and be prepared to take strong enforcement action against manufacturers if they flout the law. But we also expect smart device manufacturers to do the right thing for their customers from day one and ensure that buyers can easily find information about how long their devices will be supported."