The Trump administration is moving to block new foreign-made internet routers from entering the US market, citing national security fears tied to Chinese brands like TP-Link.
The Federal Communications Commission updated its “Covered List” on Monday to include all consumer-grade routers produced outside the United States, effectively barring new models from being approved for sale unless they pass a stringent national security review.
Officials warned that “malicious actors have exploited security gaps in foreign-made routers to attack American households, disrupt networks, enable espionage, and facilitate intellectual property theft,” according to the agency.
The move does not affect routers already in use or models that have previously received authorization — but it could choke off a massive pipeline of new devices in a market dominated by overseas manufacturing.
China-based TP-Link, a top-selling router brand on Amazon, has emerged as a focal point of concern after a series of cyberattacks heightened scrutiny in Washington.
At the same time, the sweeping nature of the rule means even US companies that manufacture abroad could be caught in the dragnet.
US-based companies like Cisco and Netgear produce all of their hardware overseas — highlighting how deeply reliant the industry is on foreign supply chains.
“We commend the Administration and the FCC for their action toward a safer digital future for Americans,” a Netgear spokesperson told The Post.
“As a US-founded and headquartered company with a legacy of American innovation, Netgear has long invested in security-first design, transparent practices, and adherence to government regulations, and we will continue to do so.”
The Post has sought comment from TP-Link and Cisco.
“The bigger issue is the general concept of if we don’t have control over the hardware, we don’t know what backdoors are being put in,” cybersecurity expert Joseph Steinberg told The Post.
Steinberg, who lectures at Columbia University and has warned about China-related cyber risks for decades, said the threat extends beyond software vulnerabilities to the physical components inside devices.
“There have been cases of poisoned hardware,” he said, adding that consumers often overlook risks tied to where and how devices are built.
Routers, which connect phones, computers and other devices to the internet, sit at a critical junction in home and business networks — making them a prime target for hackers.
“A very significant percentage of the networking-related hacks have happened because of insecure consumer networking products,” Steinberg said.
The problem has worsened as millions of Americans shifted to remote work during the pandemic, often relying on outdated or poorly maintained home networks.
“A lot of people don’t update the stuff. They buy it, they put it in, they don’t have it set to auto update,” Steinberg said. “They do no maintenance on it.”
That leaves vulnerable devices exposed — and, in some cases, able to be hijacked and used in broader cyberattacks.
“If you have a million people using a vulnerable internet-connected camera and those cameras get hacked, those can be used as a zombie network to attack other things,” he said.
“The minute you plug in vulnerable hardware to the internet, you’re exposing other people to risk.”
Federal officials have pointed to recent cyber campaigns — including operations dubbed Volt, Flax and Salt Typhoon — that targeted US infrastructure between 2024 and 2025 and were attributed to actors linked to the Chinese government.
The FCC said those incidents underscored how compromised networking equipment could be used to infiltrate or disrupt critical systems.
Under the new framework, companies that manufacture routers abroad must seek conditional approval before bringing new models into the US — a process that will require disclosure of foreign ownership, supply chain details and plans to shift production domestically.
Exemptions may be granted if the Department of Defense or Department of Homeland Security determines that certain devices are safe.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
