Reps. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., urge the Commerce Department to investigate China’s TP-Link Technology Co, a leading Wi-Fi router provider in the U.S., citing potential national security risks.
In a Aug.13 letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the lawmakers explained that “an increasing number of outside researchers and analysts have identified specific concerns about the risks posed by TP-Link.”
“Pursuant to the PRC’s increasingly draconian data protectionist and national security-focused legal regime, companies like TP-Link are required to provide data to the PRC government and otherwise comply with the demands of its national security apparatus,” they continued.
China’s TP-Link Technology Co is the largest worldwide provider of wireless local-area network (WLAN) devices selling over 160 million products annually to over 170 countries. It is also a top provider of WLAN devices in the United States, which has the representatives concerned about cyberattacks.
TP-Link devices are also used on U.S. military, Air Force, and Naval bases according to the lawmaker’s letter which noted that devices are sold to members of the military and their families.
The threat is even more disconcerting, the lawmakers explained, given the rise of China as the leader in cybersecurity risks to the United States.
Earlier this year at the Munich Security Conference, FBI Director, Christopher Wray, explained that China has attempted to attack the U.S. while using China-sponsored hackers in the past and is “poised to attack whenever Beijing decides the time is right.”
“The cyber threat posed by the Chinese government is massive – China’s hacking program is larger than that of every other major nation, combined,” said Wray.
Devices from TP-Link and others are easily threatened through their ability to compromise SOHO routers, specialized broadband routers designed for small offices and home offices, with experts finding Chinese advanced persistent threat (APT) groups are known to “consistently exploit known vulnerabilities in TP-Link routers.”
The lawmakers’ letter from follows a trend of calls for the removal of China-made devices and components from national communications networks.
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) initiative to remove and replace Chinese telecommunications equipment made by Huawei Technologies Company and ZTE Corporation in 2020 could receive an additional $3 billion in funding if a new bill introduced to the House last week is passed.
The legislation – introduced by Reps. August Pfluger, R-Texas, and Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., would require the FCC to “grant licenses for spectrum in the inventory of the commission” within one year of its enactment.
The representatives’ companion legislation to the increased funding – also introduced last week – would require the Department of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence to submit annual assessments evaluating how terrorist organizations use foreign mobile apps, including the popular Chinese company-owned app TikTok.
