Following complaints from government agencies that a Chinese carrier had misrouted information, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a proposal on Thursday to increase the security of data carried over the internet.
A proposal to improve the security of data sent over the internet was approved by the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday, following reports from government agencies that a Chinese carrier had misrouted traffic.
Since 2022, the American telecom watchdog has been investigating flaws that it claims jeopardize the security and integrity of the Border Gateway Protocol, which is essential to the internet’s worldwide information routing mechanism. Broadband providers would have to draft BGP security policies and provide reports detailing their progress in mitigating risks, according to the proposal.
Chair of the Federal Communications Commission Jessica Rosenworcel stated on Thursday that U.S. authorities had recently made public the fact that China Telecom (0728.HK), which opened a new tab, had exploited BGP vulnerabilities “to misroute United States internet traffic on at least six occasions.” She continued, “These ‘BGP hijacks’ can expose personal information, enable theft, extortion, and state-level espionage.” This is Washington’s most recent move to impose restrictions on Chinese telecom companies, including on U.S. operations and on underwater cables that carry internet traffic.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by China Telecom. Tens of thousands of interconnected networks make up the internet, and BGP is used to share information for traffic routing. Nonetheless, the Federal Communications Commission observed that BGP’s architecture “did not include security features to ensure trust in the information that is relied upon to route Internet traffic.” The Chinese telecommunications company Pacific Networks and its wholly owned subsidiary ComNet, as well as the U.S. units of China Telecom, China Unicom (0762.HK), and China Mobile (0941.HK), were ordered by the FCC to cease fixed or mobile broadband internet operations in the country in April.
China Telecom previously informed Reuters that it does not offer broadband internet access services in the sense that the FCC rule defines them. The Chinese corporations were previously prohibited by the commission from offering telecommunications services. Prior to this, Rosenworcel stated that the commission possessed proof that Chinese telecom companies were offering broadband services in the US. The FCC had revoked or refused to grant Chinese corporations permission to offer telecommunications services in the United States, citing worries about national security.
ZTE (000063.SZ) opens a new tab, and Huawei Technologies, two Chinese corporations, were previously prohibited by the FCC from receiving permits for new telecom equipment because they were deemed to represent “an unacceptable risk” to the national security of the United States.
Also read: Unveiling the Ethical Imperatives: Navigating the Intersection of AI and Cybersecurity
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