US Company Probes Dangers Of International Satellite tv for pc Use By Handheld Units

Washington:

The Federal Communications Fee stated Thursday it’s investigating if the usage of Russian and Chinese language overseas satellite tv for pc techniques by U.S. cellphones and different gadgets poses safety threats.

The FCC has issues U.S. handheld gadgets are receiving and processing International Navigation Satellite tv for pc System (GNSS) alerts from satellites managed by overseas adversaries in violation of fee guidelines.

The FCC is looking for solutions from handset producers Apple, Google, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and others that collectively cowl over 90% of the U.S. smartphone market.

The businesses didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

“There is no such thing as a established document of what safety threats, if any, these alerts carry and whether or not the producers of handheld gadgets are processing these alerts in violation of the Fee’s guidelines,” a FCC spokesperson stated.

Consultant Mike Gallagher, chair of the Home Choose China Committee, wrote FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel earlier this week elevating concern about experiences that U.S. cell telephones have been receiving and processing alerts from Chinese language and Russian satellites.

The FCC has solely authorized U.S. telephones to receivers to obtain and course of alerts from the U.S. International Positioning System (GPS) and solely the European Galileo GNSS has been authorized. Gallagher stated U.S. gadgets are receiving alerts from the PRC BeiDou and Russian GLONASS GNSS constellations.

“Present occasions in Jap Europe (together with important Russian jamming and spoofing of GNSS alerts) name into query the knowledge of accepting this workaround and recommend it’s important that the FCC implement its guidelines in opposition to utilizing unauthorized alerts from overseas satellites,” Gallagher stated.

Rosenworcel in 2018 raised issues saying U.S. telephones have chips designed to function with world navigation satellite tv for pc techniques of different nations. “Many gadgets in the US are already working with overseas alerts,” she stated in 2018.

The FCC needs to know “whether or not their gadgets are in compliance with FCC guidelines and what vulnerabilities” might exist in how they course of GNSS alerts.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)