The U.S. government has taken one of the most sweeping steps in tech security yet by instituting a nationwide ban on new foreign-made consumer routers. A move that impacts devices manufactured in China. The FCC announced its decision this week amid growing national security concerns tied to cyberattacks attributed to Chinese state-backed hacking groups.
According to the FCC, routers produced outside of the United States pose unacceptable risks to national security. Officials pointed to multiple cyber campaigns, including Volt Thypoon, Salt Thyphoon, and Flax Thyphoon, in which attackers exploited vulnerabilities to target U.S. infrastructure. These attacks targeted everything from local utilities to telecom networks, often by exploiting routers in home and small office settings. The concern is that backdoors could be used in routers inside American homes.
The ban targets all new consumer-grade routers manufactured outside of the U.S. or any new model seeking FCC approval. Conditional approval may be granted if a device shows no security risks. Since 60-65 percent of new routers are made in China, the ban removes newly manufactured routers from store shelves.
For a bit of good news, the current router in your home is considered safe; the ban does not affect existing products in your home, devices already approved for store shelves, or previously imported devices still in inventory. Retailers are allowed to continue selling existing models.
Most popular brands, including TP-Link, Asus, Linksys, Google, and Amazon routers, depend on overseas manufacturing. It’s possible companies may struggle to redesign supply chains and get those conditional approvals, meaning we could see product delays and certainly delays in new product releases
