Post Now

US Considers Ban on TP-Link Routers Over National Security Concerns  

Image

The Wall Street Journal reports that the US may ban TP-Link routers due to national security concerns over alleged links to Chinese cyberattacks.  

The Wall Street Journal reports that the US may ban TP-Link routers due to national security concerns over alleged links to Chinese cyberattacks.  

The Commerce, Defense, and Justice Departments are looking into it, with a reported subpoena already issued, and a ban could happen as early as next year. This is happening because there's growing concern that Chinese-made networking equipment could be used for espionage or cyberattacks against the US. 

TP-Link dominates the US home and small business router market—they've got about 65% of it—and even places like the Defense Department, NASA, and the DEA use their equipment. This means that any security problem is a big deal because a lot of systems could be affected, which raises serious national security concerns. 

Key concerns include:  

  1. Several vulnerabilities enable remote code execution, which was identified by CISA. 
  1. Links to the Chinese government-backed Volt Typhoon hacking campaign (revealed by Microsoft. This campaign built a huge botnet out of hacked routers to hide attacks on important systems and steal credentials on a massive scale.  
  1. Concerns that Beijing could use these devices for cyber espionage or to launch cyberattacks. 
  1. Potential anti-competitive pricing. 
  1. Claims of slow responses to security flaws. 

TP-Link says they're focused on security and are happy to cooperate with the US government. China, however, isn't pleased with the potential ban, calling it discriminatory. This is just the latest chapter in the US's ongoing standoff with Chinese tech, with similar moves made against Huawei and ZTE due to security concerns.  

Want your digital assets to be protected? 

CyberShelter provides innovative and modern cybersecurity products and niche services to individuals and organization against all kinds of cyber threats.

For the latest cyber threats and the latest hacking news please follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.