Representatives from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States convened in Washington on Friday to discuss security threats within the communications sector. The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau, which hosted the meeting at the agency’s headquarters, said attendees committed to increasing cooperation and collaboration and improving the effectiveness of enforcement programs across each nation.
Among the topics explored at the event were supply chain vulnerabilities, data breaches and ways to mitigate national security risks related to communications infrastructure.
The bureau is tasked with the enforcement of the Communications Act and regulating critical infrastructure entities.
International Effort to Secure Communications
In a statement, Loyaan Egal, head of the FCC Enforcement Bureau and the FCC Privacy and Data Protection Task Force, commented that the gathering is a first of its kind and will likely not be the last as threats to the communications sector grow globally.
“The threats facing the communications sector are bountiful and know no territorial boundaries, therefore it is imperative that we work with our closest allies to ensure we are doing everything we can to protect our respective citizens and critical infrastructure,” he said.
The FCC has existing consumer protection partnerships with the United Kingdom Office of Communications and the Information Commissioner’s Office of the United Kingdom, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
The convention is in line with the National Security Memorandum on Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience that the White House released in April. The memo recognizes the interconnectedness and interdependencies of critical infrastructure globally, which requires international partnerships to protect assets on which the United States depends on.
Securing Communication Networks
In August, the FCC released a draft of its proposed rules that aims to thwart calls and texts generated by artificial intelligence. According to a notice of proposed rulemaking, organizations behind robocalls and robotexts will be required to disclose the use of AI to create call and message content.
FCC Chairperson Jessica Rosenworcel, a Wash100 awardee, in July put forward new standards designed to protect the nation’s public alert and warning systems against cyberthreats.
