House passes bill to study routers’ national security risks

The House advanced the ROUTERS Act directing the Department of Commerce to study national-security risks from routers and modems designed, manufactured, or influenced by foreign adversaries—particularly China—citing prior legislation restricting untrusted vendors. Lawmakers and national security agencies warn that Chinese-sponsored groups like Salt Typhoon have exploited router vulnerabilities (including via Cisco devices) to persist in U.S. telecom networks, prompting calls for better understanding and mitigation of risks to critical communications infrastructure.