TP-Link: the United States could ban the Chinese manufacturer's routers
The sources of the very serious Wall Street Journal evoke what could be a real upheaval in the United States in the field of routers, and more generally in the tech sector. The products of the Chinese manufacturer TP-Link, which notably represent a whopping 65% of market share across the Atlantic for individuals and small businesses, have been linked to cyberattacks threatening American national security. These routers are also used by some government agencies and several government departments. It would therefore be considered to ban them.
Ongoing investigations into TP-Link
The Departments of Justice, Commerce and Defense have launched investigations into TP-Link. The Commerce Department even reportedly subpoenaed the company. Last October, a Microsoft analysis found that Chinese hackers were using a large network of compromised network devices, consisting primarily of thousands of TP-Link routers. However, the brand would not be involved in the alleged Chinese attack by the Salt Typhoon group last October against, in particular, eight American telecom companies.
The sources of Wall Street Journal also state that TP-Link routers are regularly shipped with security vulnerabilities, and that the manufacturer does not bother to work with security researchers on them. Unsurprisingly, a spokesperson for a unit that sells the brand's products in the USA from California says: “We welcome any opportunity to engage with the US government to demonstrate that our security practices are fully compliant with industry security standards, and to demonstrate our continued commitment to the US market, US consumers and consideration of risk national security in the United States.“
Still more tensions between the USA and China
The conclusions of these investigations should fall on the future government of Donald Trump, President who has never hidden his desire to be aggressive towards China. It is also to him that Huawei owed its ban from the USA in 2019.
Asked about possible US actions against TP-Link, the spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, said that the United States is using the excuse of national security to “remove Chinese companies“. He adds that Beijing “would resolutely defend“the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.
