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TP-Link is the bestselling router on Amazon—and has been linked to Chinese cyberattacks

U.S. authorities are investigating whether a Chinese company whose popular home-internet routers have been linked to cyberattacks poses a national-security risk and are considering banning the devices.

The router-manufacturer TP-Link, established in China, has roughly 65% of the U.S. market for routers for homes and small businesses. It is also the top choice on Amazon, and powers internet communications for the Defense Department and other federal government agencies.

Investigators at the Commerce, Defense and Justice departments have opened their own probes into the company, and authorities could ban the sale of TP-Link routers in the U.S. next year, according to people familiar with the matter. An office of the Commerce Department has subpoenaed TP-Link, some of the people said. Action against the company would likely fall to the incoming Trump administration, which has signaled an aggressive approach to China.

Alternate Coverage: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/u-s-weighs-ban-on-chinese-made-router-in-millions-of-american-homes/ar-AA1w51es

  • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    5 days ago

    And this is why I use Mikrotik:

    • not Chinese
    • seem to care about security
    • used by big orgs, so a vulnerability would be big news
    • more features than I’ll need
    • not cheap, but affordable

    I have a separate access point as well by Ubiquiti. My reasons:

    • can upgrade wireless without touching router config
    • no trade-off between router and wireless features, I can choose them independently
    • AP and router don’t need to be in the same place (nor should they be)

    Don’t buy cheap crap, buy entry level enterprise equipment instead.

    • Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      0·
      5 days ago

      Unless I’ve been looking at the wrong ones, a basic Mikrotik router isn’t terribly expensive? $70 isn’t horrible (for a non-wireless router, id be using a separate WAP)

      • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        0·
        5 days ago

        Yeah, I think mine was $80. You can get a consumer router with built-in wireless for about that much, so once you add in the AP ($100-150), it’s more. But you get more flexibility and features.

        But yeah, for an enterprise grade router, they’re pretty cheap.