A popular home internet router from China could face an outright ban as soon as next year as authorities investigate its potential link to fears of cyber attacks.
China-based router maker TP-Link is under federal investigation after recent cyberattacks on top US officials sparked an urgent need to eliminate any national vulnerabilities to more cyber threats.
The company has a 65 percent market share in the US and is the top choice on Amazon. It also operates Internet communications for the Department of Defense and other federal agencies.
But amid rising fears of cyberattacks and national security threats, the popular products could be banned from sale as soon as next year, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Sources familiar with the matter told the outlet that an office at the Commerce Department has sued TP-Link.
The ban on the products would fall on President-elect Donald Trump, who has already signaled an aggressive stance toward China, when he takes office.
Concerns about the Chinese-based products arose in October after Microsoft published a cybersecurity report, which found that a Chinese hacking unit has a large network that mostly consists of compromising thousands of TP-Link routers.
Many alleged cyberattacks took place through the network, the WSJ reported, including against government organizations and Defense Department suppliers.
China-based router maker TP-Link is under federal investigation after recent cyberattacks on top US officials sparked an urgent need to eliminate all national vulnerabilities to more cyber threats
Concerns about the Chinese-based products arose in October after Microsoft published a cybersecurity report, finding that a Chinese hacking unit has a large network consisting mostly of compromising thousands of TP-Link routers
Sources close to the matter, according to the outlet’s report, claimed the company often ships customers with routers with security flaws that they then fail to fix.
Although routers often have bugs regardless, TP-Link does not cooperate with security researchers concerned about them, the report claimed. While a spokeswoman for the company’s California unit said it is assessing potential security risks and taking steps to address known vulnerabilities.
“We welcome any opportunity to work with the U.S. government to demonstrate that our security practices are fully aligned with industry security standards, and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the U.S. market, American consumers, and addressing U.S. national security risks,” the spokeswoman told the WSJ.
If the products are banned, it would be the largest extraction of Chinese telecom equipment from the country since the Trump administration ordered Huawei Technologies removed from US infrastructure in 2019, according to the outlet.
TP-Link has already partnered with more than 300 ISPs in the US to be the router sent to new homes that sign up for their services.
Their market dominance is believed to be related to their low prices, as they are often more than half the cost of competitors.
However, the low cost is being investigated by the Justice Department to see if the price differences violate federal law that prohibits attempted monopolies by selling products for less than they cost to make.
The Biden administration is exploring potential action against the company as part of a larger response to recent cyberattacks linked to China, the WSJ reported.
A spokeswoman for the company’s California unit said it is assessing potential security risks and taking steps to address known vulnerabilities
The company has a 65 percent market share in the US and is the top choice on Amazon. It also operates Internet communications for the Department of Defense and other federal agencies
As tensions rise between China and the US, Shenzhen-based TP-Link founding brothers Zhao Jianjun and Zhao Jiaxing have sought to distance the company from China
Part of the answer may include completely ridding the US of China Telecom from the US telecom infrastructure.
The Defense Department opened an investigation into national security vulnerabilities in Chinese routers, according to WSJ sources. The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party in August called on the commerce secretary to investigate TP-Link because it exhibits an “unusual level of vulnerabilities,” the agency said.
Cyber threats became apparent after phone calls from Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and senior Biden administration officials were targeted in a hacking campaign. The phone calls, which became public last fall, added urgency to the matter.
US officials believe Chinese hackers breached at least eight US telecommunications providers in their bid to spy on top US political figures, reported CNN.
Trump’s transition team took pains to avoid attacks by rotating which phones senior staff used and holding in-person meetings at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
However, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington accused the US of using the guise of national security to “suppress Chinese companies” and that Beijing would “resolutely defend” the legal rights and interests of Chinese companies.
As tensions rise between China and the US, Shenzhen-based TP-Link founding brothers Zhao Jianjun and Zhao Jiaxing have sought to distance the company from China.
According to the WSJ, the company said in a statement that its new headquarters in California would “strengthen its presence in the US market.”
The US isn’t the only country wary of the devices, as Taiwan banned the routers from government and educational facilities. The Indian government also issued a warning about TP-Link, saying the routers posed a security risk
Threats became apparent after phone calls from Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and senior Biden administration officials were targeted in a hacking campaign. The phone calls, which became public last fall, added urgency to the matter
Recently, the company also changed the name of its Chinese units, one of which works on more than half a dozen Chinese government-run research and development projects, the outlet reported.
In a patent dispute last year, a US federal judge rejected the company’s argument that there was no relationship between the US and China companies, calling the claim “implausible”.
The US isn’t the only country wary of the devices, as Taiwan banned the routers from government and educational facilities. The Indian government also issued a warning about TP-Link, saying the routers posed a security risk.
DailyMail.com has contacted TP-Link for comment.
