U.S. FCC adds Kaspersky Lab, China telecom firms to national security
threat list
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[March 26, 2022] By
David Shepardson and Raphael Satter
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) on Friday added Russia's AO Kaspersky
Lab, China Telecom (Americas) Corp and China Mobile International USA to
its list of communications equipment and services deemed a threat to
U.S. national security.
A 2019 law requires the FCC to publish and update a list of
communications equipment and services that pose an unacceptable risk to
national security or the security and safety of U.S. people. Last year,
the FCC designated five Chinese companies -- the first firms named to
the U.S. telecom regulator's "covered list."
"Today’s action is the latest in the FCC’s ongoing efforts, as part of
the greater whole-of-government approach, to strengthen America’s
communications networks against national security threats," FCC chair
Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. The FCC said it will "continue
to update the list as other communications equipment and services meet
the criteria under the law."
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The designation means money from the FCC’s $8 billion annual Universal
Service Fund (USF) may no longer be used to purchase or maintain
products from any of the companies. USF funds are used to support
telecommunication services in rural and high-cost areas to low-income
consumers, government facilities such as schools and libraries, and
healthcare facilities.
Moscow-based Kaspersky has been under increasing pressure since Russia's
invasion of Ukraine last month. American officials had long been issuing
warnings about Kaspersky, and the United States officially banned the
company's flagship antivirus product from federal networks in 2017.
Recently European cyber authorities have begun to follow suit, issuing
similar warnings.
Private companies had also begun cutting ties with Kaspersky. Earlier
Friday, Kaspersky said in a message posted to Twitter that the popular
bug bounty program HackerOne -- which pays hackers money for finding
software flaws -- had ejected the firm from its platform.
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![](../images/032622pics/busine7.jpg)
The logo of Russia's Kaspersky Lab is on displayat the company's
office in Moscow, Russia October 27, 2017. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
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In October, the FCC revoked the U.S. authorization for China Telecom (Americas),
saying it "is subject to exploitation, influence and control by the Chinese
government." Chinese Telecom failed to persuade a U.S. court to reverse the
decision.
In 2019, the FCC rejected China Mobile's bid to provide U.S. telecommunications
services, citing national security risks.
Earlier this month, the FCC voted 4-0 to revoke the authorization for Chinese
telecom Pacific Networks and its wholly owned subsidiary ComNet to provide U.S.
telecommunications services.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment Friday, but the
Chinese commerce ministry earlier this month criticized FCC actions, and said
China would adopt measures necessary to safeguard the legitimate rights of its
firms.
In January, the FCC voted to revoke a similar authorization for China Unicom's
U.S. unit to operate in the United States, citing national security concerns.
The Chinese telecom companies and Kapersky did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
The FCC in March 2021 designated Huawei Technologies Co, ZTE Corp, Hytera
Communications Corp, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co and Dahua
Technology Co as security threats.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and Raphael SatterEditing by Chris Reese and
Jonathan Oatis)
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