Check Your WiFi Router Brand… US Mulls Ban On Chinese-Made TP-Link

Chinese TP-Link routers, the best-selling ones on Jeff Bezos’ Amazon, have been intensely scrutinized by US investigators due to links to multiple Chinese cyberattacks. This has prompted US officials to consider a potential ban on these routers, citing national security concerns. 

Sources familiar with investigations at the Commerce, Defense, and Justice departments told the Wall Street Journal that a nationwide ban on TP-Link routers could come as soon as next year. 

WSJ noted that the Shenzhen-based router manufacturer accounts for an alarming 65% of the US router market in homes and small businesses, adding, “It is also the top choice on Amazon.com, and powers internet communications for the Defense Department and other federal government agencies.”

Sources told WSJ that some TP-Link routers shipped to the US have security flaws, and the company has resisted cooperating with security researchers to address the identified issues. 

In October, Microsoft published a report that revealed a Chinese hacking group had access to thousands of compromised TP-Link routers. 

“CovertNetwork-1658 specifically refers to a collection of egress IPs that may be used by one or more Chinese threat actors and is wholly comprised of compromised devices. Microsoft assesses that a threat actor located in China established and maintains this network. The threat actor exploits a vulnerability in the routers to gain remote code execution capability,” the report explained.

When Microsoft published the report, TP-Link was already under scrutiny. In August, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party called for an investigation into TP-Link routers. 

In the letter to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, the lawmakers wrote, “TP-Link’s unusual degree of vulnerabilities and required compliance with PRC law are in and of themselves disconcerting. When combined with the PRC government’s common use of SOHO [small office/home office] routers like TP-Link to perpetrate extensive cyberattacks in the United States, it becomes significantly alarming.” 

WSJ reported that Biden-Harris officials are exploring potential action against TP-Link in response to recent cyberattacks connected with China. The likely action could come during Trump’s second term. 

The potential ban on TP-Link routers could mark the largest removal of Chinese tech from the US market since the Trump admin removed Huawei tech from America’s infrastructure.

It might be a good time to check what type of router or mesh network you have before Trump takes office next month.