As the Biden administration works to quell the frequency of cyberattacks, the Federal Communications Commission is taking steps to further protect U.S. communications networks against equipment that could pose a national security risk.

At its June 17 open meeting, the FCC will consider a proposal that would prohibit all future authorizations for equipment on a "covered" list promulgated by the commission. That list includes telecommunications and video surveillance equipment produced by Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., ZTE Corp. and Hytera Communications Corp. Ltd.

The FCC will also consider a notice of inquiry that seeks comment on how the commission can leverage its equipment authorization program to encourage manufacturers that build devices connecting to U.S. networks to consider cybersecurity standards.

The commission's efforts build upon other actions to protect the supply chain for communications equipment and services.

In 2020, the FCC formally designated Huawei and ZTE as national security threats in a move that prohibits the use of an agency subsidy fund to buy or support equipment or services provided by the companies. The companies are considered a threat due to their ties to the Chinese Communist Party and China's military apparatus. Although the order blocked U.S. companies from using federal funds to buy equipment from Huawei, ZTE and others, it did not limit purchases made with private funding.

In May, U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. and Ed Markey, D-Mass., introduced a bipartisan bill to close that loophole. The Secure Equipment Act of 2021 directs the FCC to clarify it will no longer review or approve applications from Huawei and other companies that pose a threat to national security.

The FCC declined to comment for this story, but there has been a "long-standing concern" that U.S. communications networks, both public and private, are vulnerable to attacks from bad actors who can hack cellular networks and steal information from systems critical for healthcare, school and work, said John Villasenor, director of the Institute for Technology, Law and Policy at University of California, Los Angeles.

These networks, comprising new and legacy hardware and software systems, make up a complex supply chain that can easily be probed by outside groups seeking financial gain, said Villasenor, who is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

"It could be enormously consequential," Villasenor said. "There are bad actors out there that will try to place software or hardware in these systems where they could actually shut them down. An attacker just needs to find a weak spot."

The FCC's push to ensure that communications systems are secure comes amid a surge in cybersecurity attacks, including a ransomware attack that led to the temporary shutdown of Colonial Pipeline Company's system. The U.S. also faces cybersecurity threats related to the continued shortage of chips needed to power the country's weapons systems.

U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order in May to strengthen the country's cybersecurity defenses.

The security issue has been on the FCC's agenda for years, but the recent spate of cyberattacks has "raised the stakes," said Cameron Kerry, the Ann R. and Andrew H. Tisch Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Brookings.

The FCC is "responding to a lot of the same threat concerns that the White House is and that Congress is," Kerry said.

	Government
	June 15	The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights will hold a hearing at 2:30 p.m. ET titled, "Protecting Competition and Innovation in Home Technologies."
	June 15	The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services will hold a virtual hearing at 10 a.m. ET titled, "Digitizing the Dollar: Investigating the Technological Infrastructure, Privacy, and Financial Inclusion Implications of Central Bank Digital Currencies."
	June 17	The Federal Communications Commission will host its open meeting at 10:30 a.m. to consider a notice of proposed rulemaking and inquiry designed to further protect U.S. communications systems from security threats.
	June 17	The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight will hold a hearing at 10:15 a.m. ET titled, "Addressing Emerging Cybersecurity Threats to State and Local Government."
	Industry, legal and think tank events
	June 15	The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation will host a webinar at 10 a.m. titled, "Schumpeter v. Brandeis v. Chicago: The Antitrust Debate of Our Times."
	June 15	The FCBA will hold an event at 3 p.m. titled, "CLE: AI in Space and Telecom."
	June 16	The Financial Times will host an event titled, "Re-evaluating Cloud Security."
	June 16	Nextgov will hold an event at 2 p.m. called, "Securing the Cloud," which includes a discussion with federal and local officials about how they are using cloud computing to advance safety and security.

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