Two US lawmakers want the administration of US President Joe Biden to probe China’s TP-Link Technology Co (聯洲科技公司) and its affiliates for potential national security risks from their widely used Wi-Fi routers over fears they could be used in cyberattacks against the US.
US Republican Representative John Moolenaar and US Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, who lead the House Select Committee on China, requested a US Department of Commerce probe in a letter on Tuesday seen by Reuters.
TP-Link, which focuses on the consumer market, is the top seller of Wi-Fi routers internationally by unit volume, research firm IDC said.
Photo: Reuters
In calling for an investigation, the legislators cited known vulnerabilities in TP-Link firmware and instances of its routers being exploited to target government officials in European countries.
“We request that Commerce verify the threat posed by [China-affiliated small office or home office] routers — particularly those offered by the world’s largest manufacturer, TP-Link,” the letter to US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said.
They called it a “glaring national security issue.”
The US Department of Commerce said it would respond to the letter through appropriate channels.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy said it hopes authorities would “have enough evidence when identifying cyber-related incidents, rather than make groundless speculations and allegations.”
TP-Link, founded in China in 1996 by two brothers and based in Shenzhen, said in a statement that the company does not sell any router products in the US and that its routers do not have cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
The letter is a sign of mounting concerns that Beijing could exploit Chinese-origin routers and other types of equipment in cyberattacks on US governments and businesses.
The US, its allies and Microsoft Corp last year disclosed a Chinese government-linked hacking campaign called Volt Typhoon. By taking control of privately-owned routers, the attackers sought to hide subsequent attacks on US critical infrastructure.
However, the vast majority of affected routers appeared to be from Cisco and NetGear, the US Department of Justice said in January.
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency last year said TP-Link routers had a vulnerability that could be exploited to execute remote code.
Around the same time, US security company Check Point reported that hackers linked to a Chinese state-sponsored group used a malicious firmware implant for TP-Link to target European foreign affairs officials.
The US Department of Commerce has broad powers to ban or restrict transactions between US firms and Internet, telecom and tech companies from “foreign adversary” nations such as China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela if their products pose a national security risk.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
RSS