The FCC launched a broad-reaching inquiry into the vulnerabilities threatening the security and integrity of the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), which is central to the Internet’s global routing system, their impact on the transmission of data from email, e-commerce, and bank transactions to interconnected Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and 9-1-1 calls, and how best to address them. The FCC sought comment on how the agency could help strengthen the nation’s communications networks and critical infrastructure from the vulnerabilities posed by BGP and how it could facilitate implementation of industry standards and best practices to mitigate such harms. As a next step, the FCC may propose rules on Internet routing security that could impact wireless and wireline Internet Service Providers, Internet Exchange Providers, interconnected VoIP providers, operators of content delivery networks, cloud service providers, and other enterprise and organizational stakeholders.
The FCC has also indicated interest in leveraging its authority to authorize radiofrequency equipment for import, marketing, and sale in the U.S. as a means to address the security risks associated with…
