FCC Expands Covered List of Equipment and Services That Pose Security Threat

The Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau added equipment and services from three entities – AO Kaspersky Lab, China Telecom (Americas) Corp, and China Mobile International USA Inc. – to its list of communications equipment and services that have been deemed a threat to national security, consistent with requirements in the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019. The Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act requires the FCC to publish and maintain a list of communications equipment and services that pose an unacceptable risk to national security or the security and safety of US persons. The FCC published the initial list, commonly referred to as the covered list, in March 2021, and will continue to update the list as other communications equipment and services meet the criteria under the law. The full list can be viewed here.