UK Parliamentary Committee Recommends Software Liability

Security by Design or Be Fined, Committee Suggests Akshaya Asokan (asokan_akshaya) • November 25, 2025

A U.K. parliamentary committee is recommending a new statute forcing software publishers to hew to secure-by-design principles or else face financial penalties.

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The British government, like the U.S. government, has pushed the tech sector to voluntarily integrate security into product design, a policy driven by frustration over the sheer quantity of disruptive ransomware attacks, incidents of nation-state cyberespionage and fears over the potential for remote sabotage by foreign hackers (see: UK Software Security Code of Practice Earns Mixed Reviews).

The U.K. Commons Business and Trade Committee nonetheless endorsed liability for software developers in a Monday report containing recommendations to improve economic security. The committee called for "enforcement agencies" empowered to levy fines for noncompliance with ...