FCC Contemplates Revoking China Unicom and China Telecom Certifications
The FCC is looking at revoking Communications Act Section 214 certifications of China Unicom and China Telecom, Chairman Ajit Pai said after the commissioners’ meeting Thursday. Commissioners voted 5-0 to deny China Mobile’s long-standing Section 214 application. Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks, as expected (see 1905060057), said the FCC is going too little to shore up 5G security.
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Pai said he met Wednesday with members of Senate Select Committee on Intelligence as part of an administration briefing on 5G security (see 1905100010">1905100010). “When it comes to our national security, we cannot afford to make risky choices and just hope for the best,” Pai said. “We must have a clear-eyed view of the threats that we face and be prepared to do what is necessary to counter those threats.” Pai declined to provide more information on the investigation into the certification of the other companies.
Rosenworcel called on the FCC to take a number of steps, including making “cyber hygiene” a priority. “We are going to need routine practices that increase security and reduce exposure to attack,” she said: “The agency must build these policies into its day-to-day work. As the number of devices using radiofrequency expands with the internet of things, the agency should use its equipment authorization process to encourage device manufacturers to build security into new products.”
The FCC has “more work to do” on security, Starks said. “Congress has charged our agency with protecting the national defense and the safety of life and property,” he said. While the agency may share this role with federal partners, the FCC “still has the responsibility and expertise to ensure that carriers comprehensively protect the security of our telecommunications networks,” he said. Legacy and new networks are vulnerable to “location tracking, interception, denial of service attacks and account fraud or modification,” he said.
Federal restrictions on Huawei technology could particularly hurt the company's Tier III wireless provider customers in rural America, Huawei Technologies USA Chief Security Officer Andy Purdy said in an interview for C-SPAN's The Communicators that was to have been televised over the weekend. Purdy said U.S. national security concerns about Huawei tech is "a country focus more than a company focus," with geopolitics and the rise of China being key. The FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act bars U.S. agencies from using “risky” technology produced by the company or fellow Chinese firm ZTE (see 1903070041). Purdy said Defense Authorization Act provisions don't kick in until August but for now the company's revenues are stable.