Popular model from China
Is this WiFi router a security risk?
Updated 12/19/2024 – 9:05 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
The US is considering introducing a ban on a router manufactured in China. It should be used for cyber attacks.
Anyone who has internet at home will also have a WiFi router, a device that sends internet data wirelessly via an antenna. In the USA, people are now concerned about a manufacturer: There is a risk that Chinese cyber attacks can be carried out using its devices, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The manufacturer TP-Link has a market share of 65 percent in the USA, according to the report, and is used primarily in households and small companies. The US Department of Defense and other authorities will also use the devices. In Germany it is also popular as a cost-effective alternative.
Investigators from the Departments of Commerce, Defense and Justice have opened investigations into the Chinese company. Sales of TP-Link routers in the United States could be banned next year, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. A Commerce Department office has subpoenaed TP-Link representatives, it said.
In October, Microsoft discovered in an analysis of Chinese hacker attacks that most of them used TP-Link routers. The targets of the attacks were authorities, research institutes and suppliers to the US military. Apparently the routers already have security gaps at the factory that are not being closed by the manufacturer, said analysts at the US business newspaper.
According to a representative of the company that sold TP-Link products in the United States, they take security issues seriously and are taking appropriate steps. “We welcome every opportunity to work with the U.S. government to demonstrate that our security practices are fully consistent with industry security standards and to demonstrate our continued commitment to the U.S. market, U.S. consumers and addressing the “To demonstrate US national security risks,” said the spokeswoman.
The Chinese routers have found many buyers since the Corona pandemic because more people are working from home. They are cheaper than other models, which has also led the US authorities to investigate. The US Department of Justice is investigating whether prices are below production costs. TP-Link denies this.
The Biden administration is already set to remove China Telecom from US telecommunications networks because of Chinese cyberattacks. In Taiwan, TP-Link routers are already banned in authorities and schools. India has also already issued a security warning for TP-Link routers.
