The United States ban on TP-Link routers over cybersecurity risks

The U.S. government is contemplating refusing TP-Link routers beginning next year if continuing analyses discover that their use in cyberattacks poses a nationwide safety threat. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the U.S. Departments of Justice, Commerce, and Defense are peeking into the problem, with at least one Commerce Department office having already subpoenaed the business.

In current years, TP-Link's market share has increased to about 65% of the U.S. market for SOHO routers (for houses and small enterprise offices). This potentially artificial development is powered by marketing the gadgets for smaller than their manufacturing price, which the DOJ is also studying.

Over 300 U.S. internet service providers are now issuing TP-Link gadgets as the default internet router for house users. The WSJ said that TP-Link routers are also current on the networks of numerous government agencies, including the Defense Department, NASA, and DEA. "We welcome any chances to engage with the U.S. government to show that our safety procedures are completely in line with enterprise protection measures, and to display our continued dedication to the U.S. market, U.S. customers, and managing U.S. national safety hazards," a representative for TP-Link's U.S. subsidiary told the WSJ.

TP-Link router botnet operated in password spray attacks

The research arrives after a Microsoft report announced in October that a botnet of hacked SOHO routers—tracked as Quad7, CovertNetwork-1658, or xlogin and used by Chinese danger actors—is mostly made from TP-Link devices. "Microsoft chases a network of compromised small office and home office (SOHO) routers as CovertNetwork-1658. SOHO routers simulated by TP-Link make up most of this network," the organization stated.

"Microsoft estimates that numerous Chinese hazard actors use the details obtained from CovertNetwork-1658 password spray functions to execute computer network exploitation (CNE) actions." On Monday, the New York Times also documented that the Biden government will ban China Telecom's last active U.S. functions in reaction to Chinese state cyberpunks breaching numerous U.S. telecom carriers. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repealed China Telecom Americas' license in January 2022 over "important national protection circumstances."

In November 2022, the FCC also restricted deals of communications tools made by five other Chinese companies (i.e., Huawei Technologies, ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology, and Dahua Technology) due to "inappropriate threats to national safety." In June 2020, the FCC formally selected Huawei and ZTE as national protection hazards to the goodness of U.S. communication networks.

TP-Link router botnet operated in password spray attacks

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