The US Federal Commission (FCC) approved a proposal on Thursday to enhance the safety of Internet traffic after discovering that Chinese operator China Telecom unlawfully routed traffic. The decision comes after FCC’s study of vulnerabilities in the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) system since 2022, which is crucial for global Internet traffic routing. The new proposal mandates Internet providers to create BGP security plans and regularly report on risk reduction measures.
FCC Chairman Jessica Rosenvorsel revealed that US agencies recently identified China Telecom exploiting BGP vulnerabilities for illicit traffic routing in the US at least six times. Rosenvorsel emphasized that such ‘BGP hijacks’ could result in personal data leakage, theft, extortion, and state-level espionage.
This move reflects the US government’s ongoing efforts to curb Chinese telecommunication companies’ activities. Earlier this year, the FCC ordered the American branches of China Telecom, China Unicom, China Mobile, and Pacific Networks to cease providing broadband services in the US.
China Telecom has not responded to the situation yet, previously stating that it does not offer broadband Internet access services as defined by the FCC. BGP is used in the Internet to exchange traffic route information, but according to FCC, lacks adequate security mechanisms to safeguard this data.
Additionally, FCC had previously prohibited the use of new telecommunication equipment from Chinese firms Huawei Technologies and ZTE, citing national security concerns. These actions underscore the US commitment to fortify the safety of the national telecommunication infrastructure and shield it from potential threats posed by foreign operators.