#routers

The FCC has barred the sale of new consumer-grade routers manufactured outside the US unless they win approval, a move framed as a national-security measure that could reshape hardware sourcing and consumer networking.

Authorities and researchers say Russian state-backed hackers compromised thousands of routers to redirect internet traffic and steal passwords and authentication tokens across roughly 120 countries.

The Federal Communications Commission has halted all new equipment authorizations for routers not manufactured in the United States, a sweeping national security measure that leaves existing approved devices in legal limbo — and raises hard questions about who will fill the supply gap.

The FCC has ruled that virtually all consumer wireless routers sold in the US must be domestically manufactured, effectively banning popular foreign brands from retail shelves. Existing devices remain legal to use, but the supply chain shock will reshape home networking.

A peer-to-peer botnet dubbed KadNap has infected 14,000 routers, mostly Asus devices in the US, using a Kademlia-based design that resists shutdowns.