FCC’s Jessica Rosenworcel isn’t going down without a fight

As the United States struggles to kick China out of its communications networks, Democratic Party Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Federal Communications Commissionsays it is important for his Republican successor to maintain strong control of the telecommunications industry.

The government is still avoiding the Chinese “Salt Typhoon” hacking campaign It penetrated at least nine US telecommunications companies and gave Beijing access to Americans’ phone calls and text messages and to wiretapping systems used by law enforcement agencies. The operation comes from the shockingly weak cyber security of US carriers, including AT&T administrator account lacked basic security protections.

To prevent a repeat of the unprecedented telecom intrusion, Rosenworcel used the waning days of FCC leadership to propose new cybersecurity requirements for telecom operators. Commission on Thursday voted with a low voice to approve his proposal. But those rules face a bleak future as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office and control of the FCC passes to Commissioner Brendan Carr, a Trump ally who voted against Rosenworcel’s regulatory plan.

In an interview days before Trump’s inauguration, Rosenworcel said the regulation was part of the answer to America’s telecommunications security crisis. And he has a tough message for Republicans who think the solution is to allow telecom policing.

“We are dealing with the worst telecom hacks in our nation’s history,” he says. “Either you take serious action or you don’t.”

“The Right Job”

Rosenworcel’s plan consists of two steps. First, the FCC officially announced that the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Agencies Act of 1994 (CALEA) requires telecommunications companies to design their telephone and Internet systems for wiretapping and to implement basic cyber defenses to prevent spoofing. . Later, the FCC proposed requiring a broader range of companies regulated by the commission to develop detailed cyber risk management plans and certify their implementation annually.

The outgoing chairman describes the rules as a common-sense response to a devastating attack.

“In the United States in 2025, it will shock most consumers to learn that our networks do not meet minimum cybersecurity standards,” says Rosenworcel. “We are asking carriers to come up with a plan and confirm that they are following that plan. This is the right step.”

Without these standards, he adds, “our networks will lack the protection they need against nation-state threats like these in the future.”

But Republicans are unlikely to pass new rules on telecommunications networks. The powerful telecommunications industry tends to strongly oppose any new regulations, and Republicans almost always side with the industry in these debates.

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, 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 – last month It is called Salt Typhoon “Deeply concerned” – voted against Rosenworsel’s proposal along with Republican Commissioner Nathan Simington. Carr’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the new rules. But there it is has been repeatedly criticized Rosenworcel’s approach to enforcing regulations in the telecommunications industry has accused him of overreach and warned that the FCC must rein itself in or face a backlash from the courts.