FCC Enforcement Bureau Advisory on Wireless Cybersecurity Systems Consistent With DHS Policy, Wheeler Says
A Jan. 27 FCC Enforcement Bureau advisory that suggested that a WLAN operator's use of wireless intrusion detection systems (WIDS) or wireless intrusion prevention systems (WIPS) to block a wireless network access point from being used to launch a cyberattack…
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violates federal law was meant only to “illuminate” the issue, said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in letters to House and Senate Homeland Security Committee leaders posted Friday. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., jointly sought Wheeler's clarification last month about the advisory, which they said conflicted with a 2011 Department of Homeland Security publication about WIDS/WIPS (see 1506180061 and 1506190040). The FCC believes its position in the Enforcement Bureau advisory “is consistent” with the DHS publication in its position that network operators “should not use 'blocking' to interfere with the operation of independent wireless networks,” Wheeler said. The bureau advisory “provided narrowly tailored guidance” regarding a specific situation and doesn't “change policy regarding the legitimate use of WIDS/WIPS by non-federal users and does not address any practices of federal government network operators,” Wheeler said.