White House Directive to the FCC on Routers

This reads more like another Trump edict to hold-up another country (that makes routers) hostage till they agree with what he wants them to do. I do not believe much has changed with home-used routers. We just got a new one from Cox. I believe our computers block any inquiries from the outside. If he pulls that again as he did previously, people will be on to his game.

U.S. Ban on Imported Wi-Fi Routers – A partial

Key takeaways​​​​

Your router (the indispensable box) distributes the internet signal to your computer, phone, TV, smart speakers, video doorbell and other Wi-Fi-capable electronics. It is obviously a key component of any home network. If you need to upgrade or replace your home router anytime soon, a sudden ban by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the import of all new consumer-grade routers may be in place. Those made outside the U.S. (which is just about all of them) may restrict your shopping plans. A FCC’s move puts routers in a category with foreign-made drones, which were banned at the end of last year.

The FCC cited national security and supply chain concerns in its announcement of the new ban.

“Malicious actors have exploited security gaps in foreign-made routers to attack American households, disrupt networks, enable espionage, and facilitate intellectual property theft,” the agency wrote in a release.

The FCC added the routers to what is known as its Covered List of communications gear and services, “deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the U.S. or the safety and security of U.S. persons.” Indeed, router vulnerabilities have been directly implicated in foreign cyberattacks over the last couple of years, including in the Volt, Flax and Salt Typhoon attacks that targeted U.S. infrastructure.

American hardware brands such as Netgear and Amazon-owned Eero are not exempt from the FCC’s action, since the products themselves are manufactured overseas.

Also affected is another prominent router company, TP-Link, which was founded in China, later spun into a stand-alone entity and is now based in Irvine, California. Although TP-Link had been in the U.S. government’s crosshairs for some time because of its Chinese ties, a much-speculated-on ban of the company’s products never materialized, until now.

By some estimates, China controls around 60 percent of the U.S. home router market, Reuters says. Prices for home routers vary widely, with many in the $80 to $200 range and some advanced models costing much more.

Manufacturers can seek conditional approval from the government that exempts a given model or class of routers from the ban if it is determined that they don’t pose a risk.

There is more to this article on the site. I can image costs will increase due to this issue. I did check with another site Consumer Reports. They did not add more than what was said by the White House.

“The FCC says it’s acting on a directive from a White House-convened national security body that found that foreign-produced WiFi routers pose “unacceptable risks” to national security. The agency specifically cited the recent state-sponsored Volt Typhoon, Flax Typhoon, and Salt Typhoon cyberattacks. Apparently, these exploit vulnerabilities in home and small offices to gain access to American networks and critical infrastructure.”

Not much else is being said yet.