But wait
"Schneier ... plans to call for the creation of a new US government agency to sort through the issues arising from putting software in everything." This, presumably, will require laws, since government agencies do not "sort through the issues," but apply the laws enacted by the legislature and approved by the executive. Sorting through the issues, and reconciling the many competing interests, is the job of legislators who do not always do it well and often are somewhat clueless in technical matters. The recent history of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act is instructive.
In the end, however, even if good legislation can be passed, it will not ensure that network connected devices that combine hardware and software will be secure, and the law will not apply to either US criminals (except as punishment if caught) or foreigners sheltered by uncooperative governments (at all). It also will not protect against clueless users who click on dodgy email or web links.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
