CISA, FCC Officials Say Work Underway to Address Border Gateway Protocol Vulnerabilities

The top officials of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Federal Communications Commission said in a blog post that both agencies are working to address shortages in Border Gateway Protocol cybersecurity measures.

BGP is the protocol that manages how data packets get distributed across worldwide networks through routing and information exchange. It provides redundancy and is often used by ISPs, wide-area network providers and other large networks.

According to CISA Director Jen Easterly and FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, CISA is working to improve data collection to better understand BGP vulnerabilities and help operators respond to targeted attacks.

The FCC launched an inquiry in February 2022 into BGP vulnerabilities that focused on the internet’s global routing system and they affect data transmission in other networks, including emergency response and voice-over-internet protocol.

The departments of Justice and Defense joined the FCC’s inquiry in September 2022 because of the dangers posed by adversarial countries. The agencies recommended that the FCC use technical security standards and enhanced transparency to address BGP vulnerabilities.

Easterly and Rosenworcel shared their concerns during a meeting with senior government officials, internet service providers, cloud content providers and nonprofit organizations, The Record reported.