The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has updated its cover list to include all foreign-made consumer routers, barring approval of any new models.
For clarification, the FCC says this change does not prevent the importation, sale, or use of any existing models that the agency previously authorized.
That covered list details devices and services covered under Section 2 of the Secure Networks Act that, if included, are deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to US national security.
According to the FCC, the move follows the determination by an “executive branch interagency body convened by the White House with appropriate national security expertise” consistent with President Trump’s national security strategy that the United States should not depend on another country for core components essential to the nation’s defense or economy.
Its determination was that foreign-made routers introduce a supply chain vulnerability that could disrupt critical infrastructure and national defense, and pose a serious cybersecurity risk that could harm Americans.
The FCC notes that miscreants have taken advantage of security flaws in routers to disrupt networks or steal intellectual property, and routers have also been implicated in the Volt, Flax, and Salt Typhoon cyberattacks.
There is an element of hypocrisy in all this as US intelligence agencies were previously caught intercepting Cisco-made routers en route to customers and updating their firmware to deploy spying tools.
The drawback of the policy is that practically all routers are manufactured in other countries, even those sold by American companies like Cisco or Netgear. According to the BBC, one exception is the new Starlink Wi-Fi router, which the company says is manufactured in Texas.
Thus this could be seen as another heavy-handed market intervention by the Trump administration to dissuade IT companies from investing in manufacturing on US soil.
One commenter on Reddit commented: “I also think this is very foolish. There isn’t much more foolish than suddenly banning all new routers not made in the US, given that it would take years just to ramp up production capacity.”
Another said: “So that means we’re stuck with 2026 routers for years, because chances are no one is going to make them in the US when this administration’s policies change every 10 seconds.”
There are exemptions for products that have been given “conditional approval” by the Department of Defense or the Department of Homeland Security after finding that the devices do not pose unacceptable risks. Router manufacturers can apply to the FCC to be added to the approved list.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said, “I welcome this executive branch’s national security determination, and I am pleased that the FCC has now included foreign-made routers that were found to pose an unacceptable national security risk.” ®
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