Decades-old legislation requiring American telcos to lock down their systems to prevent foreign snoops from intercepting communications isn't mere dec

FCC to telcos: By law you must secure your networks from foreign spies. Get on it

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2025-01-18 01:30:04

Decades-old legislation requiring American telcos to lock down their systems to prevent foreign snoops from intercepting communications isn't mere decoration on the pages of law books – it actually means carriers need to secure their networks, the FCC has huffed.

On Thursday, the US regulator issued a formal ruling that states telecommunications carriers have a statutory obligation under section 105 of the nation's Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) to secure their systems against unlawful access or interception of communications. Note that leaves the door open for the Feds to gain court-sanctioned access to people's communications, typically for investigating crimes. Criminals and foreign adversaries, on the other hand at least, must be kept out. This clarification is effective immediately.

This is part of Uncle Sam's larger efforts to fend off Chinese agents breaking into America's computer networks to gather intelligence. Beijing's Salt Typhoon spies just recently compromised telcos including AT&T and Verizon – giving the intruders the capability to geo-locate millions of subscribers, monitor their internet traffic, and record their phone calls – and before that, federal networks.