As the United States strives to oust China from its telecommunications networks, Jessica Rosenworcel, the outgoing Democratic head of the Federal Communications Commission, says it is essential for her Republican successor to maintain strong oversight of the telecommunications industry.
The government is still reeling from China’s “Salt Typhoon” hacking campaign that compromised at least nine American telecom companies and gave Beijing access to Americans’ phone calls, text messages, and eavesdropping systems used by law enforcement. The operation took advantage of the poor cybersecurity of US airlines, including AT&T admin account Which lacks basic security protection.
To prevent a repeat of this unprecedented telecommunications breach, Rosenworcel used the final days of her leadership of the FCC to propose new cybersecurity requirements for telecommunications operators. On Thursday, the committee The vote was narrowly passed To agree to her proposal. But those rules face a bleak future, as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office and transfer control of the FCC to Commissioner Brendan Carr, a Trump ally who voted against Rosenworcel’s regulatory plan.
In an interview days before Trump’s inauguration, Rosenworcel insisted that regulation was part of the solution to America’s communications security crisis. It sends a stern message to Republicans who believe the solution is to allow telecom companies to police themselves.
“We are grappling with what has been described as the worst communications breach in our nation’s history,” she says. “You either take serious action or you don’t.”
“The right thing to do”
Rosenworcel plan It consists of two steps. First, the FCC formally announced that the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) of 1994, which requires telecommunications companies to design their telephone and Internet systems to be compliant with wiretap operations, also requires them to implement basic cyber defenses to prevent tampering. . Subsequently, the FCC proposed requiring the broad group of companies regulated by the Commission to develop detailed cyber risk management plans and annually certify their implementation.
The outgoing president describes the rules as a logical response to a devastating attack.
“In the United States in 2025, most consumers will be shocked to learn that our networks do not have minimum cybersecurity standards,” Rosenworcel says. “We’re asking carriers to make a plan and make sure they follow that plan. This is the right thing to do.”
Without these standards, she adds, “our networks will lack the protection they need from nation-state threats like this in the future.”
But Republicans are unlikely to adopt new regulations on communications networks. The powerful telecommunications industry tends to strongly oppose any new regulation, and Republicans almost always side with the industry in these debates.
Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who now chairs the Commerce Committee, called Rosenworcel’s plan “a bandage at best, and covering up a dangerous blind spot at worst.” During the hearing In December.
Carr – from last month It’s called a salt hurricane “Deeply troubling” — they voted against Rosenworcel’s proposal, along with fellow Republican Commissioner Nathan Symington. Carr’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the new regulations. But he has Swipe repeatedly Rosenworcel’s approach to imposing rules on the telecom industry, accusing it of overreach and warning that the FCC must rein itself in or face opposition from the courts.