Senators Urge FCC to Address Surveillance Threats to US Telecom Networks

Signage is seen astatine the office of the Federal Communications Commission successful Washington connected Aug. 29, 2020. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

WASHINGTON—A radical of 5 U.S. senators urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) connected Wednesday to code surveillance threats posed by overseas firms providing services to U.S. telecommunications providers.

The antecedently unreported letter, led by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and besides signed by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said it is wide among tiny agrarian carriers “to outsource the installation and ongoing medication of networking exertion to managed work providers, immoderate of which are based successful overseas countries.”

The FCC has taken enactment successful caller years to code concerns raised by U.S. telecommunications firms utilizing hardware made by companies similar China’s Huawei and ZTE Corp.

The Democratic lawmakers said the FCC should enactment with U.S. quality agencies “to place high-risk overseas managed work providers that airs a menace to Americans’ privateness and U.S. nationalist information and prohibit U.S. wireless carriers from outsourcing the medication of their networks to these high-risk overseas firms.”

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines successful January told the Senate Intelligence Committee that “remote medication and absorption of U.S. telecommunications networks by overseas companies could perchance endanger nationalist security.”

The missive to acting FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel noted President Joe Biden successful June signed an enforcement bid aimed astatine protecting Americans’ “sensitive information from overseas adversaries.”

The FCC did not instantly remark but Rosenworcel said successful June “we request to deliberation astir information successful everything we bash successful our connected world.”

The missive added, “there are presently nary registration requirements for overseas managed work providers.”

In 2020, the FCC designated Huawei and ZTE arsenic nationalist information threats to communications networks—a declaration that barred U.S. firms from tapping an $8.3 cardinal authorities money to acquisition instrumentality from the companies.

Last month, the FCC said it would unfastened starting Oct. 29 a $1.9 cardinal programme to reimburse mostly agrarian U.S. telecom carriers for removing web instrumentality made by Chinese companies similar Huawei and ZTE.

In March, the FCC designated 5 Chinese companies arsenic posing a menace to nationalist information nether a 2019 instrumentality aimed astatine protecting U.S. communications networks—Huawei, ZTE, Hytera Communications Corp, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co, and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co.

By David Shepardson