US regulator proposes steps to protect America’s telecoms networks from espionage threats
Ajit Pai, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has proposed new rules to bar use of funds from a government programme on companies that pose ‘a national security threat’ to US telecoms networks
The chairman of the United States’ Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Ajit Pai, on Monday said he was proposing new rules to bar the use of funds from a government programme to purchase equipment or services from companies that pose a security threat to US telecommunications networks.
Pai’s statement did not disclose what companies or countries prompted the proposal. But on Friday, Pai said in a letter to Congress that he shared the concerns of US lawmakers about espionage threats from Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies.
Pai said that “hidden ‘back doors’ to our networks in routers, switches – and virtually any other type of telecommunications equipment – can provide an avenue for hostile governments to inject viruses, launch denial-of-service attacks, steal data, and more”.
The FCC, which regulates the US telecommunications and broadcast industries, will hold an initial vote on the proposal on April 17. It would bar telecoms carriers from getting government subsidies in purchasing equipment to provide service in four programmes, including providing service in some rural or hard-to-reach areas, service to libraries and schools and a programme that helps low-income consumers get phone service.
The proposal asks how the FCC should define companies that would be covered the prohibition and how to enforce the rules.