FTC slaps TRENDnet with 20 years' probation over webcam spying flaw

The Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement with US wireless webcam manufacturer TRENDnet that will commit the firm to third-party security audits for the next 20 years, plus two years of free technical support for its customers. The FTC began its investigation last year after a list of the IP addresses of over 700 …

[Don Jefe]

Yay for Internet connectivity for everything... I guess.

Does it really have to be called the 'Internet of Things' though? After all it is already an Internet of things anyway and it just sounds so dumb and contrived.

[pompurin]

I'm glad I left that Bluetooth Vibrator on the shelf.

[Sam Stevens]

I guess that's what they think IT stands for.

[rcorrect]

Sir Julian Huxley, cheers!

Oh, if only this was the Kinect. Suddenly all you tin foil hat folks are not so insane.

Now on a serious note, storing usernames and passwords in plain text? It is time to download a program to search EVERYTHING on my computer to see if any of my passwords show up unencrypted.

[Anonymous C0ward]

People have been doing this with printers for donkey's years.

[Don Jefe]

Well yes, but the ASCII picture of my hot neighbor changing clothes isn't nearly as much fun to look at as a live feed.

[Robert Helpmann??]

Why Make This Optional?

The imposed "penalty" ought to be mandatory for any company that makes devices that can be networked or accessed remotely.

[Tom 13]

Re: Why Make This Optional?

Because best practices evolve faster than legislation.

And because once there's a law saying what you have to do, companies stop spending on ways to evolve best practices and instead focus on the lowest legal requirements.

[Anonymous Coward]

Audits? COPIES, you mean.

Anyone buying this "audit" thing? The more likely story is that they have been given an option of low fine and collaboration (under the guise of an audit) or cleaning up their act which would be less convenient for the usual plethora of agencies wanting a piece of the pie.

Me, paranoid? Nah, realistic.

[Sly]

TRENDnet skimping on product?

Tell me it ain't so!

oh wait... I have yet to find any TRENDnet product that isn't corner cut to almost being nonfunctional. I avoid them almost as much as I avoid plagues.