FCC Moves to Secure Internet’s Border Gateway Protocol

The Federal Communications Commission, after reinstating its net neutrality rules, has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would secure the internet by imposing obligations on broadband internet service providers and their use of the Border Gateway Protocol and the Resource Public Key Infrastructure.

In a vote scheduled in June, the FCC will decide whether to mandate the United States’ largest broadband providers, including Comcast, AT&T and Verizon, to provide regular, confidential reports on the steps they are implementing to enhance the security of the BGP, a backbone data transmission algorithm that routes data packets across networks.

The agency will also determine whether the net neutrality rules, which mandate ISPs to treat internet data equally to ensure consistent internet speeds for all users, would provide the authority it needs to secure the reports from the ISPs, Nextgov/FCW reported.

The FCC’s notice of proposed rulemaking, issued Thursday, seeks comments from stakeholders and the public alike.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the security of the internet is of vital importance, adding that more work is needed to secure the BGP, which was built on the premise that all internet data could be trusted.

The proposed rule would also compel the internet service providers to provide the FCC data revolving around  BGP security measures using the RPKI, an encryption framework that uses digital certificates to foil various types of attacks, including one wherein hackers hijack IP addresses by tampering with the BGP.