Hustler Words – In a controversial move, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by Trump-appointed commissioners, voted 2-1 on Thursday to dismantle cybersecurity regulations mandating minimum security standards for major U.S. phone and internet providers. This decision arrives despite recent revelations of extensive hacking campaigns orchestrated by Chinese state-sponsored actors targeting these very networks.
The now-revoked rules, initially adopted by the Biden administration, required telecommunications carriers to actively "secure their networks from unlawful access or interception of communications." Commissioners Brendan Carr and Olivia Trusty, both Republican appointees, supported the withdrawal.
Commissioner Anna Gomez, the sole Democrat on the FCC, vehemently opposed the decision. In a statement, she described the overturned regulations as the "only meaningful effort this agency has advanced" since the exposure of "Salt Typhoon," a widespread hacking operation attributed to a Chinese government-backed group.
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Salt Typhoon infiltrated over 200 telecommunications companies, including industry giants like AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen, over several years. The campaign aimed to conduct broad surveillance of American officials, even compromising wiretap systems previously mandated by the U.S. government for law enforcement access.
The FCC’s action has drawn sharp criticism from prominent lawmakers. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), a leading member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, expressed his "disturbed" reaction, warning that rolling back "basic cybersecurity safeguards" would "leave the American people exposed."
Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), a ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, echoed these concerns, stating that the rule change "leaves us without a credible plan" to address fundamental security vulnerabilities exploited by Salt Typhoon and similar threats.
Conversely, the NCTA, a trade association representing the telecommunications industry, applauded the FCC’s decision, characterizing the regulations as "prescriptive and counterproductive."
Commissioner Gomez, however, cautioned that while collaboration with the telecommunications industry is essential for cybersecurity, it is insufficient without regulatory enforcement.
"Handshake agreements without teeth will not stop state-sponsored hackers in their quest to infiltrate our networks," Gomez asserted. "They won’t prevent the next breach. They do not ensure that the weakest link in the chain is strengthened. If voluntary cooperation were enough, we would not be sitting here today in the wake of Salt Typhoon."
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