A popular home-internet router from China could face a complete ban as soon as next year as authorities investigate their potential link to cyberattack fears.
The China-based router manufacturer TP-Link is under federal investigation after recent cyberattacks on top US officials sparked urgency to quash any national vulnerabilities for more cyber threats.
The company holds a 65 percent market share in the United States and is the top choice on Amazon. It also powers internet communications for the Defense Department and other federal government agencies.
However, amid rising fears of cyberattacks and national security threats, the popular products could be banned from being sold as soon as next year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Sources familiar with the matter told the outlet that an office of the Commerce Department has subpoenaed TP-Link.
The banning of the products would fall to president-elect Donald Trump, who has already signaled an aggressive approach to China, when he takes office.
Concerns for the Chinese-based products arose in October after Microsoft published a cybersecurity report, finding that a Chinese hacking entity maintains a large network made up mostly of compromising thousands of TP-Link routers.
Numerous alleged cyberattacks took place through the network, reported the WSJ, including on government organizations and Defense Department suppliers.
The China-based router manufacturer TP-Link is under federal investigation after recent cyberattacks on top US officials sparked urgency to quash any national vulnerabilities for more cyber threats
Concerns for the Chinese-based products arose in October after Microsoft published a cybersecurity report, finding that a Chinese hacking entity maintains a large network made up mostly of compromising thousands of TP-Link routers
Sources close to the matter, according to the outlet’s report, claimed that the company often ships customers routers with security flaws they then fail to address.
While routers often have bugs regardless, TP-Link doesn’t engage with security researchers concerned about them, the report claimed. While a spokeswoman for the company’s California based unit said that they assess potential security risks and take action to address known vulnerabilities.
‘We welcome any opportunities to engage with the US government to demonstrate that our security practices are fully in line with industry security standards, and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the US market, US consumers, and addressing US national security risks,’ the spokeswoman told WSJ.
If the products are banned, it would be the biggest extraction of Chinese telecom equipment from the country since the Trump administration in 2019 ordered Huawei Technologies to be taken from American infrastructure, according to the outlet.
TP-Link has already joined with more than 300 internet providers in the US to be the router that is mailed 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 whether the price differences violate federal law prohibiting attempts at 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 the recent cyberattacks linked to China, WSJ reported.
A spokeswoman for the company’s California based unit said that they assess potential security risks and take action to address known vulnerabilities
The company holds a 65 percent market share in the United States, and the top choice on Amazon. It also powers internet communications for the Defense Department and other federal government agencies
As tensions rise between China and the United States, TP-Link’s founders brothers Zhao Jianjun and Zhao Jiaxing in Shenzhen have attempted to distance the company from China
Part of the response may include fully purging the US of China Telecom from US telecom infrastructure.
The Defense Department launched an investigation into national security vulnerabilities in Chinese routers, according to WSJ sources. The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party in August urged the Commerce Secretary to investigate TP-Link because it presents an ‘unusual degree of vulnerabilities,’ the outlet said.
Cyber threats became apparent after the phone calls of Trump, Vice president-elect JD Vance and senior Biden administration officials were targeted in a hacking campaign. The phone calls, which became public this fall, brought urgency to the matter.
US officials believe the Chinese hackers breached at least eight US telecommunications providers in their attempt to spy on top political figures in the US, reported CNN.
The Trump transition team made an effort to avoid attacks by rotating which phones senior staff used as well as conducting meetings in person at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, however, accused the US of using the guise of national security to ‘suppress Chinese companies’ and that Beijing would ‘resolutely defend’ the lawful rights and interests of Chinese firms.
As tensions rise between China and the United States, TP-Link’s founders brothers Zhao Jianjun and Zhao Jiaxing in Shenzhen have attempted to distance the company from China.
According to the WSJ, the company said in a statement that its new headquarters in California would ‘solidify its presence in the US market.’
The US is not 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 presented a security risk
Threats became apparent after the phone calls of Trump, Vice president-elect JD Vance and senior Biden administration officials were targeted in a hacking campaign. The phone calls, which became public this fall, brought urgency to the matter
Recently, the company also changed the name of its China entities, one of which is working on more than a half-dozen Chinese-government-run research and development projects, reported the outlet.
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 businesses and called the claim ‘implausible’.
The US is not 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 presented a security risk.
DailyMail.com has reached out to TP-Link for comment.
