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- cross-posted to:
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Citing national security fears, America is effectively banning any new consumer-grade network routers made abroad.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has updated its Covered List to include all foreign-made consumer routers, prohibiting the approval of any new models.
For clarification, the FCC says this change does not prevent the import, sale, or use of any existing models that the agency previously authorized.
That Covered List details equipment and services covered by Section 2 of The Secure Networks Act, which, by their inclusion, are deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to US national security.
According to the FCC, this move follows a determination by a “White House-convened Executive Branch interagency body with appropriate national security expertise,” in line with President Trump’s National Security Strategy that the US must not be dependent on any other country for core components necessary to the nation’s defense or economy.
Its determination was that foreign-produced routers introduce a supply chain vulnerability which could disrupt critical infrastructure and national defense, and pose a severe cybersecurity risk that could harm Americans.
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Yeah, I think this is less about how secure foreign routers are and more about inserting their own backdoors in citizens hardware for surveillance purposes.
Next it’s going to be mandatory for US router manufacturers to leave a hardcoded backdoor for feds to use at any arbitrary reason.
for feds to use at any arbitrary reason.
For the safety of the children you mean /s
Oh yes. That’s what I meant to say. Silly me.
I genuinely thought that was already the case
It is. CALEA has been around for a long time, and it’s surprising to me not many people are aware of it
Consider what the media feeds the masses, and it becomes far less confusing. Not everyone checks out TechDirt.
If I recollect right they had some backdoor intents for nvidia AI chips.
I wonder how they define “router”. Any device with two network interfaces can be made into a router.
Edit: phrasing
Noooo, FCC, this isn’t a router, it’s just a computer with 6 network interfaces
Afaik, you’d want hardware acceleration for the actual packet routing, or it’ll be quite slow/inefficient. So any ASIC for routing packets would be considered a “router”.
I wonder if there exists an open router design based on an FPGA platform…
I think you actually need 3.
Otherwise there is no real “routing” just “in here, out there” and vice versa.The “routing” can still refer to routing to devices attached via a switch. So no need for a third port to qualify as a router.
That’s true. I forgot about a down network switch.
Technically you only need 1 interface when using VLANs. Basically any device with a CPU and NIC can be a router.
It’s a router if it operates on layer 3. Most WiFi routers only use two interfaces (ISP side and WiFi) and yet they are routers. They also provide a later 3 firewall.
But several devices can connect to the WiFi side.
Counts as multiple endpoint devices.Same with Ethernet
FCC and Executive Branch unilaterally try to**
That said, I don’t have the money to try to import an unapproved router for personal use and then find/hire lawyers sue when its seized in customs, and am uncertain what arguments could be used in-court to affect this issue beyond for, maybe, myself ending up with a product I honestly don’t plan to use, but there has to be a way beyond begging Congress-Critters for some basic crumbs of Illusion-of-Choice-masquerading-as-Consumer-Rights … right?
