{"id":2356,"date":"2025-03-17T11:44:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T11:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/?p=2356"},"modified":"2025-03-17T11:44:01","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T11:44:01","slug":"fcc-creates-national-security-council-to-counter-cyber-threats-from-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/?p=2356","title":{"rendered":"FCC creates national security council to counter cyber threats from China"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has established a new Council for National Security to coordinate and strengthen the agency\u2019s efforts against foreign adversaries, with a particular focus on threats from China.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Council will leverage the full range of the Commission\u2019s regulatory, investigatory, and enforcement authorities to promote America\u2019s national security and counter foreign adversaries, particularly the threats posed by the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP),\u201d FCC said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The council\u2019s formation comes just two months after the Trump administration disbanded several cybersecurity advisory bodies<\/a>, including the Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) that had been investigating the China-linked hacking group Salt Typhoon, signaling a significant reorganization of federal cybersecurity oversight.<\/p>\n

The new council represents a critical expansion of the FCC\u2019s national security posture and will draw representatives from eight different bureaus and offices within the commission to address cross-sector threats in telecommunications and technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, the country faces a persistent and constant threat from foreign adversaries, particularly the CCP,\u201d FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement announcing the initiative<\/a>. \u201cThese bad actors are always exploring ways to breach our networks, devices, and technology ecosystem. It is more important than ever that the FCC remain vigilant and protect Americans and American companies from these threats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Filling a governance gap<\/h2>\n

The move comes amid a broader restructuring of federal cybersecurity governance. In January, the acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffman dismissed all members of the CSRB, which had been created by the Biden administration. The AI Safety and Security Board and the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee were also affected by the Trump administration\u2019s effort to \u201cclamp down on the misuse of resources\u201d and rationalize Homeland Security operations.<\/p>\n

The FCC\u2019s new council appears positioned to assume some responsibilities previously distributed across these disbanded bodies, particularly regarding telecommunications security. Adam Chan, a national security lawyer, will serve as the council\u2019s first director, the statement added.<\/p>\n

The timing is particularly notable as the CSRB had been actively investigating Salt Typhoon\u2019s infiltration of US telecommunication networks<\/a> when it was disbanded. These sophisticated operations highlighted vulnerabilities in the communications supply chain that the new FCC council will likely address.<\/p>\n

Three-pronged strategy<\/h2>\n

The council will pursue a tripartite strategy focusing on reducing dependency, mitigating vulnerabilities, and ensuring American technological leadership.<\/p>\n

First, it aims to reduce American technology and telecommunications sectors\u2019 trade and supply chain dependencies on foreign adversaries. This goal aligns with broader government efforts to \u201cfriend-shore\u201d critical technology supply chains and decrease reliance on potentially hostile nations for essential components and technologies.<\/p>\n

Second, the council will work to mitigate the US\u2019 vulnerabilities to cyberattacks, espionage, and surveillance by foreign adversaries. This reflects growing concerns about foreign-controlled technologies and applications that could potentially collect sensitive data or compromise critical infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Third, the initiative seeks to ensure US leadership in strategic technology competition with China, specifically mentioning 5G and 6G communications, AI, satellite and space technologies, quantum computing, robotics and autonomous systems, and the Internet of Things.<\/p>\n

Shifting cybersecurity architecture<\/h2>\n

The council\u2019s cross-agency structure suggests the FCC recognizes that modern communications security challenges require coordinated approaches that transcend traditional regulatory silos. Representatives from eight different bureaus and offices will foster internal collaboration while also facilitating engagement with external partners.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Council will facilitate the Chairman\u2019s ability to implement a comprehensive national security agenda and facilitate the Commission\u2019s engagement with national security partners across the Executive Branch and in Congress,\u201d the announcement stated.<\/p>\n

This enhanced coordination comes as part of a broader reorganization of federal cybersecurity responsibilities. The CSRB had previously investigated high-profile cyber incidents including attacks by the Lapsus$ hacking group<\/a> and the 2023 Microsoft Exchange Online breach<\/a> before its dismissal in January.<\/p>\n

Industry implications<\/h2>\n

For telecommunications and technology companies, the council\u2019s formation likely signals continued or potentially increased regulatory scrutiny of supply chains, foreign partnerships, and security practices. Enterprises that rely on telecommunications infrastructure should anticipate that the FCC may take a more active role in evaluating the security implications of certain technologies and services.<\/p>\n

The establishment of the council also suggests that national security considerations may play an increasingly important role in future FCC decisions regarding spectrum allocation, equipment authorizations, and market access \u2013 all critical factors for technology companies planning future investments and product development. <\/p>\n

As tensions with China continue and technology becomes increasingly central to national security, this institutional change at the FCC reflects the Trump administration\u2019s approach to addressing complex, cross-cutting security challenges in an interconnected digital ecosystem while consolidating oversight functions across federal agencies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has established a new Council for National Security to coordinate and strengthen the agency\u2019s efforts against foreign adversaries, with a particular focus on threats from China. \u201cThe Council will leverage the full range of the Commission\u2019s regulatory, investigatory, and enforcement authorities to promote America\u2019s national security and counter foreign adversaries, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2356"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}