The GEA critiques FCC's use of the Covered List to control routers

"“[i]nsecure defaults, exposed management interfaces, weak authentication, and above all, inadequate patching and end-of-life support are engineering and lifecycle failures.”"

"“The FCC's decision to add all foreign-produced consumer routers to its Covered List represents a structural shift in how the United States regulates consumer technology.”"

"“It is not a targeted action against a named adversary. It is a categorical restriction that touches every major router manufacturer, every broadband provider's equipment pipeline, and ultimately every U.S. household that depends on a Wi-Fi connection. The scale of the a”"

"“The report suggests the challenges are operational, not the result of the router technology.”"

A report from the Global Electronics Association criticizes the FCC’s approach to router security and supply-chain restrictions. An interagency body updated the Covered List to include consumer-grade routers made abroad, aiming to protect the United States from technology with security risks. The report argues the program is unrealistic because more than 100 million consumer routers exist in the U.S., and the policy would require replacing each one. It states that intrusions such as the Salt Typhoon cyberattack stem from insecure defaults, exposed management interfaces, weak authentication, and inadequate patching and end-of-life support. It also claims the Conditional Approval process is untested at the required scale and would create approval bottlenecks involving the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and the FCC.

Read at Telecompetitor