FCC Council on National Security: One Year In

This century, the landscape of threats to U.S. national security interests has drastically evolved. Across all elements of civilian life, America's adversaries have made it their clear intent to probe and penetrate any vulnerabilities, in search of leverage over the United States.

Here at the FCC, we have seen and dealt with these threats firsthand. Insecure electronic devices flooding our market, forcing reliance on adversaries for critical inputs. Cyberattacks from foreign adversaries, like Salt Typhoon, are targeting American telecommunications infrastructure, undersea cables, and commercial satellites.

One year ago, Chairman Carr launched the FCC's Council on National Security-a first-of-its-kind effort to reorient the agency in pursuit of targeted action against these kinds of foreign adversary threats.

The Council was established with a three part mission: (1) Reduce the American technology and telecommunications sectors' trade and supply chain dependencies on foreign adversaries; (2) Mitigate America's vulnerabilities to cyberattacks, espionage, and surveillance by foreign adversaries; and (3) Ensure the U.S. wins the strategic competition for critical technologies, such as 5G and 6G, AI, satellites and space, quantum computing, robotics and autonomous systems, and the Internet of Things.

With representatives from nearly every bureau and office, the Council is designed to leverage the full range of the Commission's regulatory, investigatory, and enforcement authorities.

I am grateful to Chairman Carr for placing his trust in me to lead this excellent group and I am proud to report outstanding progress over the last 12 months. Let's dive into the a few high points from the last year.

• Relying on expertise from every Bureau and Office, the FCC proposed and then finalized rules to establish a uniform system for identifying foreign adversary ownership and control across all FCC licensees and authorization holders-ranging from broadcast media and telecom operators, to satellite licensees and electronic device makers. This consolidated reporting system will give the FCC and our national security partners the visibility needed to spot foreign adversary control in our networks.
  
• Bolstering the FCC's "Covered List"-a list of communications equipment and services deemed to be a national security threat-has been another centerpiece of the Council's work. The Council's first action was an investigation into the continued operations of entities identified on the Covered List, which has informed further action, including:
  
  • Closing two Covered List loopholes. While devices (potential spy gear) on the Covered List already could not get authorization to enter the U.S. market, we for the first time adopted new rules to allow for us to prohibit import and sale of already-authorized devices and began prohibiting the authorization of devices containing covered equipment modular components.
    
  • Executed Operation Clean Carts : coordinating with ecommerce platforms to stop the illegal, online sale of unauthorized "covered" devices, getting them to remove millions of covered equipment listings and commit to additional screening protocols.
    
• Based on an Executive Branch national security determination, the FCC also updated the Covered List to include devices produced by certain foreign adversary drone-makers as well as all other foreign-made drones-subject to exemptions for trusted devices. This action promoted American drone dominance and secured American airspace sovereignty.
  
• Another significant Council workstream has been our crack down on "Bad Labs," the entities that test and certify devices as safe to enter the U.S. market. Many of these labs, however, were controlled by foreign adversary governments. We've cracked down to weed out and remove these labs from the equipment authorization process, further securing the integrity of American supply chains, and we'll continue to push further.
  
• The Council has also worked to implement President Trump's America First Investment Policy Memorandum. For example, the FCC adopted new rules to unleash the build out of undersea cables to promote resilience and ensure the U.S. leads the world on AI infrastructure, while at the same time adopting a range of regulatory measures to mitigate threats to undersea cables from foreign adversaries.
  
• The Council has also been active on non-regulatory matters: working with telecom carriers following Salt Typhoon to ensure they adapt their cybersecurity practices and harden their networks against future attacks; issuing cybersecurity advisories; coordinating with international partners like the Five Eyes and our Asian allies; and adopting groundbreaking enforcementmeasures.

These are just a select handful of actions the FCC has taken, with the direction and coordination across the Council on National Security, to safeguard and secure our critical communications. Over the next year, we have an even more ambitious regulatory and enforcement agenda, and I am confident, under Chairman Carr's leadership, we will continue to deliver quick and decisive action in defense of American national security.

Accomplishments Across the Council: Bureaus and Offices

Office of International Affairs (OIA) Chief, Tom Sullivan: "As part of the Council on National Security, OIA continues to work with international partners to strengthen trusted supply chains, clean global communications networks, and to spotlight malicious actors that threaten the security and integrity of those systems. OIA also led the modernization of the Commission's submarine cable licensing framework for the first time in 25 years, establishing common sense safeguards to secure our nation's critical infrastructure against foreign adversary threats."

Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) Chief, Zenji Nakazawa: "As part of the Council on National Security, PSHSB provided expertise for several Commission-level initiatives. These efforts focused on removing foreign adversaries from the U.S. communications sector-including the FCC's equipment authorization program-improving the security and resilience of critical communications infrastructure, and ensuring the integrity of communications services and equipment. PSHSB also updated the FCC's Covered List, which identifies untrustworthy equipment and services, including recently added foreign-made drones. PSHSB continued to support interagency operations for counter-UAS, border security, and law enforcement. It also collaborated closely with industry, issuing policy guidance on ransomware and recent cyberattacks on broadcasters, as well as promoting cyber hygiene best practices."

Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) Chief, Andy Hendrickson: "OET administers the FCC's equipment authorization program, ensuring that nearly all consumer electronic devices comply with RF safety standards and ensure 'covered' devices do not enter the U.S. market. Through its work on the Council on National Security, OET has strengthened the integrity of the authorization program by removing untrusted 'Bad Labs,' including those owned or controlled by foreign adversaries from the compliance ecosystem; closing loopholes allowing devices to incorporate insecure modular transmitters from high-risk vendors; and implementing the recent addition of certain drones and drone components to the Covered List. These actions reinforce the security and reliability of the U.S. electronic device supply chain and align with and advance Chairman Carr's broader agenda to harden U.S. communications infrastructure against untrusted technologies and supply chain risks."

Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) Chief, Joseph Calascione: "In addition to advising and supporting on domestic telecom security, WCB led an agency-wide effort to address risks of foreign adversary control of Commission-granted licenses and authorizations by adopting new attestation and disclosure requirements. This new information will fill gaps in the Commission's existing rules and give the public a comprehensive view of threats from foreign adversaries. In addition, WCB joined OIA and EB in issuing an Order to initiate the revocation of HKT (International) Limited's authority to provide domestic telecommunications service."

Enforcement Bureau (EB) Chief, Patrick Webre: "Concurrent with the Chairman's creation of the Council one year ago, EB launched its largest-ever national security-focused investigation into ongoing operations of all nine entities named on the Covered List. Since opening that investigation, EB has prioritized efforts to protect our nation's supply chains, including through Operation Clean Carts, which has resulted in the removal of more than 3 million illegal products from major online platforms; and to aggressively enforce national security rules, including the first-ever enforcement action against an entity for violating a Team Telecom mitigation agreement and a Notice of Apparent Liability against a Covered List entity."