Adding Russian Company to Covered List Likely an Opening Move: R Street Expert

The FCC's expanding its list of "covered" equipment suppliers -- deemed to present security concerns -- by adding Russian cybersecurity powerhouse Kaspersky Lab (see 2203250067) is likely only a start, emailed Tatyana Bolton, R Street Institute policy director-cybersecurity and emerging threats. “It sounds like exactly like the discussions the government had when the threat of China started to become the primary concern within the national security establishment,” she said: “If Russia doesn’t stop their unprovoked aggression, it seems highly likely that more Russian companies may join the list. Given that the number of Russian suppliers is fairly low, however, there is a limit to how effective this strategy is in constraining Russian behavior.”