The FCC just banned foreign-made routers — here’s which ones might be stealing your data

Foreign-made electronics are posing increased threats to the consumer, especially as the technology becomes more widely available.

In fact, other electronics are seemingly becoming part of a network with built-in back doors that, at best, are a complex network dedicated to stealing user data for profit. At worst, they are a massive national security concern.

‘Not just surveillance, but real-time analysis.’

In late March, the Federal Communications Commission announced it would begin following a federal directive that bans all foreign-made internet routers.

The executive branch determined that foreign routers “pose unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States or the safety and security of United States persons,” the FCC wrote.

The FCC added that foreign routers represent a “supply chain vulnerability” that could pose a “severe cybersecurity risk.”

This was followed by an updated list of banned router manufacturers, which includes a plethora of Chinese companies, the U.S.-registered company ComNet (which is owned by a Chinese company), and the Russian-owned Kaspersky Lab.

What are they stealing?

Connecting to every device in a home, internet routers are “one of the most valuable targets for foreign hackers,” says Aiden Buzzetti, president of the Bull Moose Project.

He told Return, “If an adversary can compromise the router, they can surveil your traffic, reach into your connected devices, or rope the whole thing into a botnet.”

Tyler Saltsman, CEO and founder of Department of War-partnered EdgeRunner AI, explained that “even a subtle vulnerability in hardware or firmware can enable not just surveillance, but real-time analysis” of consumer data.

This allows for automated exploitation at scale that can quite literally give adversaries the ability to monitor patterns and trends about the U.S. population.

RELATED: The world cut the cord. Government won’t.

Joan Cros/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Buzzetti recently sat down with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who explained that the government found routers to be a sector that was particularly vulnerable to foreign cyber attacks.

As a priority, Carr said that the No. 1 thing the United States needs to make sure of is that it is eliminating dependence on electronics and technologies from foreign adversary nations.

How else are they spying?

The FCC took earlier action against foreign drones out of fears of foreign surveillance as well.

In December, the FCC noted a federal directive on banning foreign-made unmanned aircraft systems/drones, as well as those that use critical components produced in foreign countries.

“Drones was another one where there was a determination made that all foreign-produced drones present an unacceptable national security threat,” Carr told the Bull Moose Project last week.

Another threat addressed by members of Congress recently has been the spying apparatus revealed through foreign robots.

Recent research showed that Chinese robot manufacturer Unitree Robotics had a pre-installed back door into its G01 robot dogs that allowed for the surveillance of customers around the world.

Axios reported on research that showed the spyware was public-facing, meaning anyone with the proper information could view customers’ live camera feeds without login credentials.

Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chair of the House China Select Committee, told Axios that there was a “direct national security threat” that was being actively investigated by the government on this topic.

RELATED: I called out the CIA on X — and then my account disappeared

These foreign entities could embed AI models in tech used by American consumers, Saltsman remarked in comments to Return. Adding that consumer products like routers, drones, and soon-to-be robots can therefore be morphed from “passive data conduits” into “active interpreters of sensitive information.”

“This amplifies the value of any data they collect and the risk if they’re compromised,” Saltsman explained.

The federal government has allowed for an approval process for companies to apply to regarding the sale of drone systems or routers in the United States.

So far, the approved list consists of just five drone systems and two router companies. One drone company appears to be based in the U.K., while another is seemingly from Norway. The rest are American.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!