Washington: Two U.S. lawmakers have urged the Biden administration to investigate TP-Link Technology Co, a Chinese company, and its affiliates for potential national security risks associated with their widely used WiFi routers. Republican Representative John Moolenaar and Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, leaders of the House Select Committee on China, made this request in a letter to the Commerce Department on Tuesday.
TP-Link, which focuses on the consumer market, is identified by research firm IDC as the leading global seller of WiFi routers by unit volume. The lawmakers’ call for an investigation highlights known vulnerabilities in TP-Link firmware and reports of its routers being used to target government officials in European countries.
“…We request that Commerce verify the threat posed by (China-affiliated small office/home office) routers — particularly those offered by the world’s largest manufacturer, TP-Link,” the letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo states.
The lawmakers described the issue as a “glaring national security concern”. In response, the Commerce Department indicated it would address the letter through the appropriate channels. The Chinese Embassy expressed hopes that U.S. authorities would rely on concrete evidence rather than “groundless speculations and allegations.”
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TP-Link, founded in China in 1996 and headquartered in Shenzhen, responded by stating that it does not sell router products in the United States and that its routers do not have cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
The request for a probe reflects increasing anxiety that Beijing might exploit Chinese-manufactured routers and other equipment to conduct cyber attacks on U.S. government and business networks. Last year, the U.S. and its allies, along with Microsoft, revealed a Chinese government-linked hacking campaign known as Volt Typhoon. This campaign involved taking control of routers to conceal attacks on American critical infrastructure.
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However, the majority of the affected routers were from Cisco and NetGear, according to a January statement by the Justice Department. Additionally, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency had previously noted a vulnerability in TP-Link routers that could allow remote code execution. At the same time, U.S. security firm Check Point reported that hackers associated with a Chinese state-sponsored group had used a malicious firmware implant for TP-Link routers to target European foreign affairs officials.
The Commerce Department holds extensive authority to ban or restrict transactions between U.S. firms and tech companies from “foreign adversary” nations, including China, if their products pose a national security threat.
