Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) sent a letter Thursday to the Department of Homeland Security calling for the potential ban of foreign-made virtual private networks for use by government employees.
Wyden and Rubio are urging Christoper Krebs, director of DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, to conduct a threat assessment on the national security risks that come with government employees using browsers that run on VPNs created by foreign companies. The senators noted that millions have downloaded foreign-made VPN apps, including those from countries that don’t “share American interests or values.â€
“Because these foreign apps transmit users’ web-browsing data to servers located in or controlled by countries that have an interest in targeting U.S. government employees, their use raises the risk that user data will be surveilled by those foreign governments,” they added.
Wyden and Rubio noted that the U.S. government is taking steps addressing the potential risks of foreign-made technology by conducting investigations on Chinese telecommunications equipment and Russian products such as those from Kaspersky Labs. Both senators called on Krebs to issue a binding operational directive to prohibit foreign-made VPNs on federal systems and devices if it’s found they “pose a threat to national security.â€