FTC Brings Its First Enforcement Action For 'Internet of Things'

Earlier this year, we wrote about the FTC's plan to hold a November 2013 public workshop over concerns with the "Internet of Things," the dramatically growing capacity of smart devices to communicate information through the Internet. In advance of the workshop, the FTC has entered into a consent decree with a marketer of Internet-connected video cameras, marking the Commission's first foray into the Internet of Things.

The marketer in this case was a provider of home security video cameras that allowed consumers to monitor their homes remotely. According to the complaint, a hacker exploited a security flaw in the marketer's system and posted live feeds to approximately 700 home cameras, displaying babies asleep in their cribs, young children playing, and adults going about their daily lives. While the marketer did alert customers of the security flaw and offered them a security patch, the FTC alleged that the marketer had failed to use reasonable security to design