Whoa, that escalated quickly. This just got sent out by the press folks at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC says it has decided that all foreign-made consumer-grade Internet routers are henceforth prohibited from receiving FCC authorization and are therefore prohibited from being imported for use or sale in the United States.

"Update Follows Determination by Executive Branch Agencies that Consumer-Grade Routers Produced in Foreign Countries Threaten National Security

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2026—Today, the Federal Communications Commission updated its Covered List to include all consumer-grade routers produced in foreign countries. Routers are the boxes in every home that connect computers, phones, and smart devices to the internet. This followed a determination by a White House-convened Executive Branch interagency body with appropriate national security expertise that such routers “pose unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States or the safety and security of United States persons.”

"The Executive Branch determination noted that foreign-produced routers (1) introduce “a supply chain vulnerability that could disrupt the U.S. economy, critical infrastructure, and national defense” and (2) pose “a severe cybersecurity risk that could be leveraged to immediately and severely disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure and directly harm U.S. persons.”

"This action does not affect any previously-purchased consumer-grade routers. Consumers can continue to use any router they have already lawfully purchased or acquired."

"Producers of consumer-grade routers that receive Conditional Approval from DoW or DHS can continue to receive FCC equipment authorizations. Interested applicants are encouraged to submit applications to [email protected]."

Not sure how many consumer-grade routers will be left for sale if it really is a ban on approvals for any foreign-made consumer routers like they said, and not just a bunch of already restricted Chinese makers like Huawei and ZTE.

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-updates-covered-list-include-foreign-made-consumer-routers

FCC's "covered list" of "thou shalt not entities": https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain/coveredlist

@briankrebs And a lawsuit being filed in 3...2...1...
@T2R @briankrebs especially since it doesn't cover ISP or commercial equipment, which is where the main threat would be
@T2R Lawsuit was filed by a Texas attorney against TP-Link some time ago, and "BAn *all* the routerS!!" is all about interference by Beijing alleged in that suit. In true Trumpian style, TP-Link is a Californian manufacturer of routers... @briankrebs
@vik @T2R @briankrebs But their routers are made in Asia, same as just about every other manufacturer.
@Doppelganger75 Yep, somewhere in Vietnam, for a company based in Irvine. Hence, ban on foreign-made routers sold by American companies outsourcing the manufacturing. This can quickly go into the weeds with "how much before it's not made in the US?" and "what exactly is a router anyway?" which is all irrelevant because the answer is sinophobia. @T2R @briankrebs
@T2R @briankrebs if only there were some cheaper and faster way to get that conditional approval than a lawsuit...
@briankrebs Well, Putin turns off mobile Internet, Iran does it, so the US doesn't want to be left behind. Or do you know of a single "made in the USA" consumer-grade router?
@cm @briankrebs Unifi, but they probably also manufacture outside the US...
@ShnoofleBear @briankrebs I grabbed the box from my latest Unifi purchase, it says "Made in Vietnam".
@cm @briankrebs oh no, not a government-control-of-the-internet gap?!!
@briankrebs i got a handful of tuned gl.inet devices. i wonder if i can get a grand each for em now?

@Viss @briankrebs

Dunno how long they'll be there, but:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FB8X43KJ/

Amazon.com: GL.iNet GL-BE9300 (Flint 3) Tri-Band WiFi 7 Router, High-Speed 6GHz Gaming WiFi Router for Wireless Internet, Long Range, 5 x 2.5G VPN Routers for Fiber Optic Modem, Computer Routers, Home & Business : Electronics

Amazon.com: GL.iNet GL-BE9300 (Flint 3) Tri-Band WiFi 7 Router, High-Speed 6GHz Gaming WiFi Router for Wireless Internet, Long Range, 5 x 2.5G VPN Routers for Fiber Optic Modem, Computer Routers, Home & Business : Electronics

@the @briankrebs i have like 6 gl.inet routers

@Viss @briankrebs

I mean they're still sold… for now, at least.

@Viss you mean you have a million bucks in forbidden routers in your possession? Do you even have a trenchcoat with enough pockets to sell those in a shady back alley? 😜
@the @briankrebs
@briankrebs So like... every router?
@briankrebs oh no worries, we can all just go down to our neighborhood bespoke router shop
@yelof @briankrebs You can pick up some nice walnut and cedar clockwork ones in thrift stores and yardsales.
@freequaybuoy @yelof @briankrebs it’s only the best artisanal hand-crafted organic grass-fed routers for me, the packets are so much “warmer” than with the mass-produced stuff 🙃
@itgrrl @yelof @briankrebs I'll only use Ask Jeeves on the original vinyl
@briankrebs Maybe it would be more efficient for Republicans to tell us what is not "a threat to national security."
@Axomamma @briankrebs
Presumably, illiterate white women with their vocal cords cut who wear nothing but underwear, a wedding ring, and a ball and chain...
@briankrebs
Let me guess - there are approx. zero consumer grade routers made in the US, and this was a way to get around the 1st amendment, rather than a full internet blackout like in Russia and Iran...
@leeloo @briankrebs only for people who buy routers new and don't already have one 🤷 I have no illusion it'll stay that way, but right now this wouldn't actually prevent most of us from accessing the internet
@raphaelmorgan @leeloo @briankrebs I imagine my stash of outdated 10/100 routers is about to become extremely valuble?
@briankrebs there must only be a *very* small
number of genuinely US-made routers, surely? And how far down the supppy chain do you go?
@briankrebs What in the world is this nonsense?
@briankrebs "producers of consumer-grade routers that receive Conditional Approval from DoW or DHS" ... and there's the grift. "install CALEA support and give us the keys. and pay Jared some cash."
@mikemol @briankrebs Oh no, surely it won't be paid to Jared. I'm sure they'll have to make a large investment in American Patriot Technologies, LLC or some other similarly named brand new company to get final approval

@briankrebs

What US routers?
They don't produce anything in their country anymore other than debt.

Also ironic they give a shit about security while letting individual states push bullshit that actually is a threat to security.

@bussphomet that's a lie.

We also manufacture gambling apps.

@briankrebs Presumably any routers made in the USA are backdoored by the NSA and anyone else who has the NSAs keys? cough Snowden cough
@rupert I'm sure the NSA has rotated their keys since then.
@briankrebs likely translation: No new routers can be sold in the US unless they have a backdoor for the federal government
@raphaelmorgan @briankrebs
Might just be regular old jingoistic profiteering?
@EndlessMason @raphaelmorgan @briankrebs Well, Fairchild and US Robotics aren't suddenly going to fall through a temporal wormhole to make new gear.
@linuxandyarn @raphaelmorgan @briankrebs
Maybe somebody will buy the trademarks and import the chassis/boards and slap stickers on 'em?
@EndlessMason @raphaelmorgan @briankrebs I don't think the capital class actually cares where on the planet goods are produced. More likely the jingoism is just the pretext they're using to sell the American people on a shitty idea.
@raphaelmorgan @briankrebs corollary: other countries should not import any US made routers, due to national security concerns

@anyia @raphaelmorgan @briankrebs There was a meme a while back that I can't find an image if but the alt text would be

A cable plugged into a Cisco router to protect from Russian spyware goes into a Mikrotik router to protect from Chinese spyware and a cable goes from the Mikrotik to a D-Link router to protect from American spyware.

(There may have been a fortigate in the original image, but that would just be too funny and tragic.)

@linuxandyarn @anyia @raphaelmorgan @briankrebs Looks like one of those — sorry no alt text since your own post is basically it
@fraca7 @linuxandyarn @anyia @raphaelmorgan @briankrebs the diagrams are missing the "AI" agent running behind the firewalls that's exfiltrating all your IP to train Russian, Chinese, Israeli, and Former American security "AI"s.
@fraca7 @linuxandyarn @anyia @raphaelmorgan @briankrebs If I remember correctly, the original image had an additional firewall with the description „just for good measure“.

@fraca7 #AltText if you want to add it for posterity…

a network diagram showing a straight dotted pathway arrow between “The Bad Internet” (a blue cloud) and “Our trusted LAN” (a blue circle)

between these two endpoints are four firewalls, each represented by a brick wall in yellow & orange tones

the firewalls are labeled:

Huawei FW – Protection against US backdoors

Juniper FW – Protection against Chinese backdoors

Cisco FW – Protection against Israeli backdoors

Checkpoint FW – Protection against Russian backdoors

@fraca7 @linuxandyarn @anyia @raphaelmorgan @briankrebs Great to see my old graphic again. The orange one, posted on Twitter in December 2015. I created because of some 0-day vulnerabilities is one of the major firewalls.
@anyia @raphaelmorgan @briankrebs Are there any US made routers?
@HauntedOwlbear from end to end? Where does the "made in/produced in the US" stop?
@Escoutaire @anyia @raphaelmorgan @briankrebs

@jt_rebelo

Yeah, I'm fairly sure the US doesn't have full production chain capabilities for most computing equipment.

@Escoutaire @anyia @raphaelmorgan @briankrebs