Russia export controls and sanctions

The FCC's expanding its list of "covered" equipment suppliers -- deemed to present security concerns -- by adding Russian cybersecurity powerhouse Kaspersky Lab (see 2203250067) is likely only a start, emailed Tatyana Bolton, R Street Institute policy director-cybersecurity and emerging threats. “It sounds like exactly like the discussions the government had when the threat of China started to become the primary concern within the national security establishment,” she said: “If Russia doesn’t stop their unprovoked aggression, it seems highly likely that more Russian companies may join the list. Given that the number of Russian suppliers is fairly low, however, there is a limit to how effective this strategy is in constraining Russian behavior.”

The FCC expanded its list of "covered" equipment suppliers -- deemed to present security concerns -- adding three companies Friday, including Russian cybersecurity powerhouse Kaspersky Lab. The FCC has been scoping steps it could take in reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (see 2203180051). The others added are China Telecom (Americas) and China Mobile International. The FCC previously revoked China Telecom’s domestic and international authorities (see 2110260060). In May 2019, in a first shot at Chinese providers, commissioners voted 5-0 to deny China Mobile’s long-standing Section 214 application (see 1905090039). The FCC released its original list of five covered companies, including Huawei and ZTE, a year ago (see 2103120058). Kaspersky is the first non-Chinese company to make the list. “Last year, for the first time, the FCC published a list of communications equipment and services that pose an unacceptable risk to national security, and we have been working closely with our national security partners to review and update this list,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel Friday. This action “is the latest in the FCC’s ongoing efforts, as part of the greater whole-of-government approach, to strengthen America’s communications networks against national security threats, including examining the foreign ownership of telecommunications companies providing service in the United States and revoking the authorization to operate where necessary,” she said. None of the companies immediately commented. The expansion of the list is “welcome news,” said Commissioner Brendan Carr: “I am pleased that our national security agencies agreed with my assessment that China Mobile and China Telecom appeared to meet the threshold necessary to add these entities to our list. Their addition, as well as Kaspersky Labs, will help secure our networks from threats posed by Chinese and Russian state-backed entities seeking to engage in espionage and otherwise harm America’s interests.” Kaspersky is a Moscow-based company that offers artificial intelligence-driven “protection against hackers and the latest viruses, ransomware and spyware,” according to its website. The company claims 400 million users worldwide. Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security warned against use of Kaspersky security products earlier this month, citing the danger of cyberattacks, according to Hackread.

Europe doesn't appear to be looking into communication companies' ties with Russia beyond sanctioning Russia Today and Sputnik, stakeholders said.

A petition from a nonprofit representing U.S. Ukrainians urging the FCC to designate for hearing the licenses of the owners of a Washington, D.C., area station that airs Radio Sputnik is unlikely to succeed but could lead to a costly process, said broadcast and First Amendment attorneys in interviews Wednesday.

Clamping down on unwanted and illegal robocalls remains the top priority of the FCC Enforcement Bureau, bureau officials said during an FCBA webinar Tuesday. “The top priority is robocall, robocall, robocall, robocall,” said Kristi Thompson, chief of the Telecommunications Consumers Division. That’s “not surprising” because unwanted calls “have been the top of the pop charts on the FCC’s compliance databases for several years running now,” she said. “Because it is such a hot consumer issue it’s also one that is politically neutral and therefore bipartisan,” she said. A “collective hatred for all things robocalls and our desire to see more and more done against them” unites Americans, Thompson said. Her division also spends a lot of time on privacy and data security, she said. “I sort of read with dread headlines today suggesting that Russia was talking about increasing cyberattacks” on U.S. infrastructure, she said: “For me, communications networks … seem like a prime target.” The Fraud Division is looking into allegations of fraud in the emergency broadband benefit program, said Chief Rakesh Patel. USF programs are always a focus, he said. The amounts of dollars involved can “be quite significant,” he said. “Where ever the commission’s focus is at any given point in time the Enforcement Bureau tends to follow,” said Jeffrey Gee, chief of the Investigations and Hearings Division.

Some 62,000 attended the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, where a major theme was the fast growth of 5G, John Strand of Strand Consult blogged Monday. Top officials at GSMA didn’t mention “the declining shareholder value of mobile operators,” he said: “Since 1998, the only net value add from has been premium SMS to pay for ring tones, logos, Java games, and TV polls. While mobile data traffic may be up 40% last year, this does not translate into greater revenue for mobile operators. … GSMA's members may talk a big game about the future; it has failed to monetize it.” Strand said “the elephant in the room” was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “While there’s a consensus that Russia’s actions are wrong, few realized just how brutal the invasion could be,” he said. “2022 is likely the last MWC that GSMA and its members can pretend to remain neutral geopolitically. Governments, consumers, and shareholders are forcing companies to choose sides.” MWC was held Feb. 28-March 3.

Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., expressed optimism Monday that Congress can begin conference negotiations on its China package before the end of the work period, as planned by Senate leadership (see 2203140059).

OneWeb's satellite launches -- disrupted after Russia barred use of Russian rockets earlier this month -- will resume later this year on SpaceX rockets, OneWeb said Monday.

“Evolving intelligence” shows Russia is exploring potential cyberattacks against the U.S., President Joe Biden said Monday. He urged private sector entities to implement best practices to strengthen cyber defense, noting most U.S. critical infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector. Best practices include multifactor authentication, patches against the newest and known vulnerabilities, data backup, emergency drills, encrypted data and employee education, the White House said.

The FCC’s “top-to-bottom” review of communications companies’ ties to Russia, announced by Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel Wednesday (see 2203160031), likely has a broad focus, covering media companies, telecom and infrastructure providers, submarine cable operators and any Russian companies carrying U.S.-international phone traffic, industry experts told us. But compared with China, a recurring focus of the FCC, ties to Russia appear to be minimal.