Aug 19, 2024 10:30:00

A letter to the US Department of Commerce to investigate cybersecurity risks of TP-Link routers

It has been revealed that US members of Congress are calling on the Commerce Department to investigate cybersecurity risks associated with routers made by China-based network equipment maker TP-Link.

2024-08-13 Letter to Commerce re TP-Link (filed).pdf
(PDF file)

https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2024-08-13%20Letter%20to%20Commerce%20re%20TP-Link%20(filed).pdf

Routers from China-based TP-Link a national security threat, US legislators claim
https://therecord.media/routers-from-tp-link-security-commerce-department

On August 13, 2024, Republican Congressman John Moolenaar and Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamurthy sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo requesting an investigation into TP-Link's products as a potential threat to the national security of the United States.

According to the lawmakers, TP-Link's products are widely used in American homes, including at military bases, but analysts have found vulnerabilities in TP-Link's products, and the Chinese government's tightening of its laws could force companies like TP-Link to disclose data, so the lawmakers point out that the company is considered a risk to the United States.

'The extraordinary vulnerability of TP-Link's products and the fact that TP-Link complies with Chinese law are disturbing in and of themselves, and are particularly worrying when combined with the fact that the Chinese government has used routers like TP-Link to launch large-scale cyber attacks in the United States,' the lawmakers wrote.

In particular, the FBI has been urging manufacturers to take action against the intensifying cyber activities of the China-based cybercrime group 'Volt Typhoon,' which is said to be based in China. According to experts, Volt Typhoon is exploiting vulnerabilities in TP-Link routers to carry out its attacks.

The lawmakers requested that the Department of Commerce, under its Information and Communications Technology Services (ICTS) program , review TP-Link's products to ensure they adequately mitigate national security concerns, in accordance with the agency's authority to protect the public from cyberattacks and other communications.