As the United States seeks to cut China out of its communications networks, Jessica Rosenversel, the outgoing Democratic chair. Federal Communications Commissionsays it is important for his Republican successor to maintain strong oversight of the telecommunications industry.
The government is still fed up with the Chinese “Salt Typhoon” hacking campaign That penetrated at least nine US telecommunications companies and gave Beijing access to Americans’ phone calls and text messages and wiretap systems used by law enforcement. The operation exploited the shockingly poor cybersecurity of US carriers, incl An AT&T administrator account which lacked basic security safeguards.
To prevent a repeat of the unprecedented telecom intrusion, Rosenworcel used the waning days of his FCC leadership to propose new cybersecurity requirements for telecom operators. On Thursday, the Commission Voted less to approve his proposal. But those rules face a bleak future as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office and hand over control of the FCC to Commissioner Brandon Carr, a Trump ally who has opposed Rosenwressel’s regulatory plan. had voted
In an interview days before Trump’s inauguration, Rosenworcel is adamant that the regulation is part of the answer to America’s telecommunications security crisis. And he has a strong message for Republicans who think the solution is to let the telecom police themselves.
“We are wrestling with what has been described as the worst telecommunications hack in our country’s history,” she says. “Either you take serious action or you don’t.”
“The Right Thing To Do”
Plan of Rosenversal There are two steps involved. First, the FCC formally announced that the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), which required telecommunications companies to design their phone and Internet systems to comply with wiretaps, prohibited tampering. Prevention also requires implementing basic cyber security. Further, the FCC proposed requiring a broad range of companies regulated by the Commission to develop detailed cyber risk-management plans and to annually verify their implementation.
The outgoing chairwoman described the rules as a common sense response to a devastating attack.
“In the United States in 2025, it will surprise most consumers to learn that our networks do not have minimum cybersecurity standards,” says Rosenworcel. “We are asking carriers to develop a plan and certify that they follow that plan. It is the right thing to do.”
In the absence of these standards, she adds, “our networks will lack the protection they need against these kinds of nation-state threats in the future.”
But Republicans are unlikely to adopt new rules on telecom networks. The powerful telecommunications industry strongly opposes any new regulations, and Republicans almost always side with the industry in these debates.
Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican who now chairs the Commerce Committee, called Rosenworcel’s plan “a Band-Aid at best and a serious blind spot at worst.” During the hearing In December.
Carr—who last month Called Salt Typhoon “deeply concerned” — voted against Rosenworcel’s proposal, along with fellow Republican Commissioner Nathan Symington. Carr’s office did not respond to a request for comment about the new rules. But he has Criticized again and again Rosenworcel’s approach to imposing regulations on the telecom industry, accusing him of overreach and warning that the FCC must rein itself in or face a backlash from the courts.
