David Dimolfetta

The agency argues its Nov. 8 proposed rulemaking will dually address the transportation industry’s regulation concerns while ensuring they’re suitably protected from hackers. Others want to wait and see.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel cited rising national security risks in conflict zones as a catalyst for the proposed updates to submarine cable regulations.

Lawmakers have called on the agency to take up a rulemaking to rethink wiretapping laws amid the hacks that have ensnared several telecom companies, but top FCC officials have not signaled any forthcoming action yet.

The hacks carried out by the Salt Typhoon group impacted a couple dozen countries and may have been ongoing for one to two years, the official said.

Several lawmakers have called for the agency to reform wiretap standards governed by the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA.

The measure from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. comes in the wake of Chinese-backed hackers breaching a swath of major telecommunications providers.

The NCIRP was first released in 2016. The updates include pathways for non-federal groups to get involved in responding to devastating cyberattacks.

The report comes amid an ongoing Chinese intrusion into U.S. telecom systems. Congress is also working to shore up device protections for servicemembers through the annual defense authorization bill.

LockBit has made headlines for years, allowing purveyors of its malware to haul away millions of dollars from victims.

Some of the exploited vulnerabilities have had fixes available for several years. One provider’s management system was protected with a basic numeric password.