Spyke

The US government just banned consumer routers made outside the US

The US claims foreign-made routers pose national security risks.

In December, the Federal Communications Commission banned all future drones made in foreign countries from being imported into the United States, unless or until their maker gets an exemption. Now, the FCC has done the exact same for consumer networking gear, citing “an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States and to the safety and security of U.S. persons.”

If you already have a Wi-Fi or wired router, you can keep on using it — and companies that have already gotten FCC radio authorization for a specific foreign-made product can continue to import that product.

But since the vast majority — if not all — consumer routers are manufactured outside the United States, the vast majority of future consumer routers are now banned. By adding all foreign-made consumer routers to its Covered List, the FCC is saying it will no longer authorize their radios, which de facto bans new devices from import into the country.

The US government just banned consumer routers made outside the UShttps://www.theverge.com/news/899172/fcc-foreign-router-banOpen linkView original on lemmy.world
lemmy.world

Here's a list of all the commercially available US made routers below

<null>

Good hunting !

133
lemmy.blahaj.zone

I fucking hate my xfinity router. their excuse of a "settings" panel can ONLY be accessed from their app 🤮, and just marvel at the plethora of options you can configure:

SSID

Password

xfinitywifi Hotspot ON/OFF

"Safe" Browsing ON/OFF

this is madness compared to my previous att router, which while still a shitty ISP router, at least had enough settings to create a proper self-hosting environment. I feel this is being done to kill self-hosting.

14
lemmy.zip

You don't have to use their hardware. In fact, you can save the monthly equipment rental fee by purchasing and setting up your own. I've been using Xfinity with my own cable modem and router for years.

7

okay, buy a new router now with your desired options and protect your neck? i get that it may not be cost effective but your options here are shit both ways.

2
lemmy.world

Except with their bandwidth fees I would be paying more money to use my own equipment than to rent theirs (which includes unlimited bandwidth). Not to mention there are very few modems they allow to use DOCSIS High Split for increased upload speeds even if they're capable of it.

Put it in bridge mode, open it up and disconnect the wifi antennas and use your own gear.

0
lemmy.zip

Bandwidth fees? No idea what you're talking about. I pay a flat monthly price for 1Gbit down, 300Mbit up with no data caps or throttling, and I definitely get the speeds I'm paying for. I have a relatively cheap Motorola modem. I think I paid about $120 for it 6 years ago and haven't had a spot of trouble. I never reboot it. The only time I have lost connection it turned out to be a failed signal attenuator in a junction box down the street.

1

Be glad it's not in your area or you were grandfathered into unlimited then. 1.2 TB cap with $10 / 50GB over that. Or you can get unlimited data for an additional $30 / month. Their modem rental includes unlimited data for $25 / month.

You might also want to run a speed test. Comcast has a very small list of modems that they approve for mid split / high split for faster upload speeds https://www.xfinity.com/support/internet/customerowned That meant my own modem (which supported it but wasn't "approved") could only get ~100 Mb/s upload, but their rental hits the 300 they advertise (closer to 350 with the over-provisioning)

1
KneeTittsreply
lemmy.world

which imo are compromised from the gecko

elvis sings: "In the geckoooo"

3
lemmy.world

From the ... gecko? From the get-go. Boneappletea in the wild, or autocorrect gone wrong?

2

It's not about that. It's about existing manufacturers getting "approval". That approval likely means it's got a Palantir backdoor pre installed.

They can still be made outside the US as long as they are approved. That's all this is about.

35

We can make wafers here, and we can absolutely do final assembly using wave solder machines (worked for a couple of companies in Austin doing either) but it’s the crucial step between that we don’t do. The US doesn’t really make electrical components, not at that scale anyway. We don’t even spend the money on pick and place machines, and even if we do final board assembly here it’s sub-par at best. I’m arguing with my boss every day that I’m not a damn machine, I can’t make perfect solder joints every time.

9

Provided they are made with rolled steel and have a big-ass two-stroke diesel attached, I am entirely sure that routers are within the abilities of the US's high-tech industrial base.

Can you power a router with Clean Coal™?

8

I mean, if the article is correctly-assessing the situation, and you're correct that there aren't any, I'd expect them to show up pretty quickly. Might cost more.

1

Everyone who is even remotely technically able and even slightly concerned about privacy needs to learn how to BYO router

86
Cocodapufreply
lemmy.world

Sounds... like a bit of a pain in the ass.

So, I imagine we're talking about a linux micro-pc with perhaps 1 or 2 additional pcix networking cards?

6
sunstonedreply
lemmus.org

If you want a dedicated device, sure. Image it with OPNSense and it'll basically just work.

You can also take any desktop you already have, fire up an OPNSense VM, pcie passthrough your WAN NIC + WiFi card, bridge to a separate LAN NIC, go through the setup, and there's your router.

2
Cocodapufreply
lemmy.world

Alright, well I appreciate the direction there, that's really helpful.

You can also take any desktop you already have, fire up an OPNSense VM, pcie passthrough your WAN NIC + WiFi card, bridge to a separate LAN NIC, go through the setup, and there's your router.

Although, I gotta be honest, for someone who doesn't regularly use Linux, that does sound like a lot of potential issues getting this working.

3

That's fair. Once you understand some basics though it's not too bad. There's a UI just like any router you might already be used to. The most confusing part for someone who is new to this would probably be setting up the VM hardware plumbing, and understanding that a passthrough means that hardware is unavailable to the host.

1

Wait, it talks about FCC radio authorization. However that doesn’t make it a router, just an access point. Quite a few routers (thinking the Pro-sumer Uniquiti UXG models) don’t even have radios and aren’t wireless so there’s no radio they can withhold certification on. This could affect AIOs but all you’d have to do is separate your router from your AP.

Definitely sounds like a quickly thrown out, half baked shakedown (bribe) measure with something they could control (radio authorization) and just targeted routers since that’s a common place they are.

40
lemmy.world

Many people will soon find joy in slapping a 4-port NIC into an old PC and learning nftables, BIND9 and kea.

40

You don't even need all that, if you're just doing wifi routing, one wired nic and one wifi card will do, if you want wired routing too, just one more nic will do, then use a dumb switch to get the multiple ports.

2
lemmy.ml

It is possible (and now probably encouraged) to run router software on an old PC. You can also slot in a PCIE nic or connect it too a hardware switch and AP for more flexibility and control.

This won't stop your ISP from spying on you, but it will stop your American router manufacturer from spying on you.

39
_deleted_reply
aussie.zone

Don’t forget to add age verification to the operating system!

10
lemmy.ml

The covered list notes they use the National Security Determination definition of router which is as follows:

Routers: For the purpose of this determination, the term “Routers” is defined by National Institute of Science and Technology’s Internal Report 8425A to include consumer-grade networking devices that are primarily intended for residential use and can be installed by the customer. Routers forward data packets, most commonly Internet Protocol (IP) packets, between networked systems

So enterprise devices (which is where an attacker would focus their attention if they were looking for large payouts or political leverage) don't count, nor do APs or switches. That really just seems like an excuse to have a platform for the Feds to spy on their citizens.

28
lemmy.world

Also, since when does the FCC have jurisdiction over wired routers? Like the post text explicitly says they will not authorize radios, which wired routers don't have...

4

We'll see what happens after the inevitable wave if lawsuits grinds its way through the courts.

2
Malfeasantreply
lemmy.world

How many strictly wired routers are there anymore? (Somewhat rhetorical question, but I am a little curious)

1
LordCromreply
lemmy.world

Enterprise grade routers are different from the typical consumer wifi router. In large companies, wired only routers are it. Youll have differnt ports and different media, but wifi is usually a different set of equipment.

1
Malfeasantreply
lemmy.world

Yeah but I think this legislation is targeting consumer grade equipment, professional tends to be more expensive than consumers are willing to spend, so I wasn't really considering it part of the equation.

1

Oh i cant remember the last time i even saw a consumer router without wifi.

Kinda interesting since i know 1 guy who took a laptop with a broken screen, ripped it off, and used it as a firewall .

Wish more people knew that routers arent magical devices.

1

So... can I still flash custom firmware like OPNsense and Openwrt on them? Cause I literally just posted about hardware decision a few days ago 😭

Edit: It seems the article and actual FCC document will leave previous router models alone, but anything newer is cooked... Even the US brands like Cisco aren't actually manufactured here because we fucking outsource evrything. I hate this government.

27
discuss.tchncs.de

You can just buy one of those SBCs with two RJ45 ports that can be used as routers, i doubt that those will be banned.

7

Yeah this is where I'm at. Even an old thin client with like 4 cores and 8GBs of RAM is more than enough for the majority of home users. Find one with two NICs or a small pcie slot, slap in a 4 port and you're smooth sailing.

I plan on building exactly this soon and throw opnsense on it

1

Seriously, how hard is it to write a blanket, "No spyware allowed in electronics whatsoever" law and call it a day?

4

It's always projection. This means the dark empire is weaponizing commercial drones and wifi routers and everything else. They don't want anyone to do to them, what they will now do to you.

20
Zacpodreply
lemmy.world

That was exactly my thought. "Oh, this means thar the US has Spyware on the routers produced inside the USA, and any US drone has killswitches built in."

7
halfsakreply
lemmy.world

Yup. You'll need to insert your ID into the US govt approved router as well

2
lemmy.world

Dear American government, I have a better idea: Ban proprietary software on routers. You can even go a bit further and ban proprietary OSes totally. This way nobody will spy on your citizens without their knowledge.

11

Their AI is, but it's simply rating that comment as a -4.31 patriotic sentiment score and updating databases accordingly

2
tal
lemmy.today

looks dubious

I mean, I don't disagree that there are security risks posed by random consumer broadband routers. It is definitely the case that unmaintained --- not intentionally shipped with malware --- routers have been a real security problem in the past. My own view is that the current set of conventions, which often has very poor or no security on devices on the LAN and thus relies on the router to keep bad stuff out, is a very real part of that problem, but sure, having a secure router is part of that.

However.

I'd say that the majority of the threats that a router poses are also posed by any device on the LAN that can call out to the Internet. Like, you aren't doing a lot to secure devices on the LAN if you ban routers and then I can still go buy random gadget from wherever that can get on the WiFi or wired Ethernet network and phone home, take instructions from home, and can talk to other devices on the LAN. I mean, are you also going to ban, say, smart televisions? Ethernet-connected security cameras? I mean, poorly-secured network-connected cameras have posed very real threats in places like Ukraine, where military intelligence has actively exploited them to get information about an area come conflict.

And I just don't think that we're going to commit to locking that down.

9

The idea is to stamp some that install doge palantir vibe coded back door to the propaganda control machine then they're "made in the us" and then you just have to come up with a good excuse. But the excuse department is kind of busy, so wysiwyg

6
lemmy.dbzer0.com

They did a first pass on banning security cameras many years ago. It was maybe the test bed, I can definitely see that one getting revisited. They only banned two major manufacturers that had kinda already been caught as a major security concern.

It's why you don't see hikvision or dahua anymore where they used to be major players.

3
feddit.nu

Ah yes, more security holes incoming. Gotta love maglomania (not sure if that is the correct word?)

8

Haha I am not certain that is correct, but it's what i'm gonna use from now on for sure 😁

2

Well, I tried to get y'all to stock up on drones a year ago

Unrelated: drones make a great Christmas gift for that recently laid off, benefits denied, recently diagnosed with a disease caused by known carcinogens in their everything, injured at work, under paid and exploited person you know.

Get em before they’re deemed a safety hazard and pulled from shelves.

For some reason the above comment gives an error of Error when viewed outside my comments.

https://lemmy.ca/post/34476205/13234882

Maybe I made them ban drones:

I may have suggested some things.

You may have to copy and paste that link - voyager refuses to open it.

4

I was hoping to hold off on upgrading my modem and router until at least one of them died. Considering the nature of the Regime, I should just bite the bullet and spend some of my savings. That money will lose value anyways.

Costco is selling an BE19000 router for about $240. That is a bit cheaper than the same thing on Amazon.

2