TP Link is a fast-growing Chinese networking and security systems brand in Australia that could be a massive risk claims senior US Government officials.
This month an investigation of TP- Link products spanning routers, security cameras and mesh network devices was being called for by the powerful US House Of Representatives Select Committee investigating the actions of the People’s Republic of China (PRC.
Military and Homeland security officials are being called on to investigate the PRC and their connections with TP Link whose products have been found to contain malware inserted by Volt Typhoon a state-sponsored hacking group associated with the Chinese government that has been targeting critical infrastructure organizations in the U.S and Australia as well as across Europe.
The Australian Government has recently been made aware of a letter written by John Moolenaar the Chairman of the Select Committee of which ChannelNews has a copy.
Alarming for the US Government and the US Homeland Security and the US Military was the discovery that as of the 24th of August 2024, 31 TP Link products which have been deemed a security risk were being sold via the US Army, Air Force and Navy Store.
ChannelNews recently visited the store at www.shopmyexchange.com where several TP-Link products were still being ranged in what is being described as a serious embarrassment to the US military.
These same products are being sold by Officeworks, JB Hi Fi and Harvey Norman along with several specialist PC dealers in Australia.
As a result of the discovery Congressman Moolenaar, wrote to Gina Raimondo the Secretary of the Department of Commerce, as well as the US Secretary, of the Department of Homeland Security, the Director of National Intelligence and the Director, of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security, as well as the Chief Executive Officer, Navy Exchange Service Command calling for an immediate investigation of TP-Link and their association with the People’s Republic of China Government.
He wrote “TP-Link’s products account for a substantial part of the U.S. market for Wi-Fi routers and related devices. Open-source information indicates that the company may represent a serious threat to U.S. ICTS security.
“We therefore request that Commerce investigate TPLink under its ICTS authorities to determine whether the company poses a national security risk.
He claimed that TP-Link is the world’s largest provider of Wi-Fi products, selling over 160 million products annually to more than 170 countries, and is a leading home router provider”.
The committee’s investigations revealed that the Chinese networking products were widely embedded across US military personnel homes and other locations.
He claims that “An increasing number of outside researchers and analysts have identified specific concerns about the risks posed by TP-Link” he said.
He told the US Military top brass and Homeland Security executives that a former Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently revealed that while “U.S. cybersecurity authorities and analysts have documented vulnerabilities from home equipment vendors across the board, TP-Link products have had more than their fair share of citations.”.
The committee have urged the Department of Commerce to assess this potential danger and conduct a thorough investigation into TP-Link while calling on the Department to utilise its Information and Communication Technology Services (ICTS) authority to evaluate whether TP-Link represents a national security threat ongoing in the US and vin Countries such Australia who partner with the US in military operations.
“Should this prove to be the case, we advocate for the Department employs its ICTS powers to address and mitigate the risk”.
He claims that TP-Link’s unusual degree of vulnerabilities and required compliance with PRC law are in and of themselves disconcerting. When combined with the PRC government’s common use of SOHO routers like TP-Link to perpetrate extensive cyberattacks, which he claims is becoming alarming both in the USA and Australia.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray stated recently “PRC-sponsored hacking has “reached something closer to a fever pitch” with the PRC “…poised to attack whenever Beijing decides the time is right.”.
In a hearing before the Select Committee, Director Wray called Volt Typhoon and other PRC Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups “the defining threat urging manufacturers to implement security designs to guard against breaches in light of the threats posed by groups like Volt Typhoon.
Australian officials have deep concerns about Volt Typhoon because intelligence suggested the group was “pre-positioning for the purposes of disruptive impact” including sabotage, according to Abigail Bradshaw, head of the Cyber Security Centre at the Australian Signals Directorate.
The US Government warned alliance partners such as Australia in February 2024 that the hacking group was pre-positioning itself on major critical infrastructure networks, a contingency in case of increased geopolitical or military conflict between China and the US.
The US Government believes that the PRC and organisations such as Volt Typhoon, are able to compromise Chinese routers like those manufactured by TP-Link.
Expert analysis last year has shown that these PRC APT groups consistently exploit known vulnerabilities in TP-Link routers in malicious campaigns, including when the PRC targeted government officials in European countries.”
In that cyber campaign, malicious “modified firmware images were only found only on TP-Link routers.
This resulted in the US Department of Justice conducting a court-authorized operation to remove Volt Typhoon malware from hundreds of TP-Link routers nationwide.
Moolenar concluded “Given the PRC’s data and national security laws, the proliferation of PRC-made routers…. and the demonstrated willingness of the PRC government to sponsor hacking campaigns using PRC-affiliated routers like those manufactured by TP-Link, we request that Commerce verify the threat posed by PRC-affiliated routers”.
TP-Link Australia has not commented on recent security claims.
To Read the US letter sent to US security chiefs click here.
