What You Need to Know About the Foreign-Made Router Ban in the US
Key takeaways
- While the headline is that foreign-made consumer routers are banned, manufacturers can apply for exemptions.
- “Malicious actors have exploited security gaps in foreign-made routers to attack American households, disrupt networks, enable espionage, and facilitate intellectual property theft,” the FCC wrote.
- Foreign-made consumer routers were added to the Covered List, which details equipment and services “deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States.”
Why this matters: a development in AI with implications for how people work, create, and decide.
Photograph: Future Publishing/Getty Images Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story The Federal Communications Commission has banned new consumer internet routers manufactured outside the US, citing national security concerns. The ban doesn’t affect any routers already in American homes or currently on sale in the US, but all new routers aimed at the consumer market will need to be approved.
While the headline is that foreign-made consumer routers are banned, manufacturers can apply for exemptions. There's no need to throw out your router, and you'll still find plenty of mesh systems on the store shelves. But what does this mean for you?
“Malicious actors have exploited security gaps in foreign-made routers to attack American households, disrupt networks, enable espionage, and facilitate intellectual property theft,” the FCC wrote. “Foreign-made routers were also involved in the Volt, Flax, and Salt Typhoon cyberattacks targeting vital US infrastructure.”