The White House expressed its hope on Tuesday (September 3) that federal agencies would enhance the security of internet routing in light of concerns from U.S. officials about the Chinese government potentially diverting internet traffic.
The Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) at the White House outlined in a report a series of efforts aimed at addressing critical security vulnerabilities related to Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). The report emphasized that by addressing BGP issues, the ONCD is tackling a long-standing challenge to internet traffic security. Given the current landscape of cybersecurity threats, the ONCD continues to emphasize the importance of a secure and open internet for U.S. economic prosperity and national security.
The office stated that federal agencies should implement route security on their networks and seek to require U.S. government contracting service providers to deploy currently feasible internet routing security technologies.
“Traffic may unintentionally or intentionally be diverted, exposing personal information; leading to theft, ransom, and nation-state espionage activities; disrupting critical transactions; and undermining the operation of key infrastructure,” said the ONCD report.
The White House report noted that the original design features of BGP are insufficient to fully address the threats and flexibility requirements faced by today’s internet ecosystem. Ensuring the security of BGP is crucial for protecting the integrity of U.S. digital infrastructure.
On June 6, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted on a proposal aimed at enhancing the security of internet information transmission. The proposal would require broadband providers to develop BGP security plans and submit progress reports on risk mitigation.
Since 2022, the FCC has been studying several vulnerabilities, stating that these vulnerabilities pose a threat to the security of BGP, which is the core of the global information routing system of the internet.
FCC Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel stated on June 6 that according to investigations by the U.S. Department of Defense and Department of Justice, China Telecom has exploited BGP vulnerabilities at least six times to misdirect U.S. network traffic.
The Department of Defense and Department of Justice stated that BGP provides China with the opportunity to “disrupt, capture, inspect, and alter U.S. traffic.”
In April of this year, the FCC announced that it was ordering U.S. carriers owned by Chinese entities such as China Telecom, China Unicom, China Mobile, and Pacific Networks, along with its wholly owned subsidiary ComNet to cease fixed-network and mobile broadband internet services in the U.S.
The FCC has also banned the approval of new telecommunications equipment from Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE, citing “unacceptable risks to U.S. national security.”
(Adapted from a report by Reuters.)