WASHINGTON, April 15, 2021—Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel today announced that the Commission will re-establish the Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council, with a primary focus on improving 5G network security. In addition, following security breaches that have impacted the communications sector, she will ask the Committee to review software and cloud services vulnerabilities and to develop mitigation strategies. Finally, Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel will seek to diversify the group’s membership to include a broad variety of stakeholders, including representation from the FCC’s federal partners with similar interests.
“I am committed to working with our federal partners and the private sector to increase the security and resiliency of our nation’s communications networks,” said Rosenworcel. “That is why I am refocusing and revitalizing the FCC’s Communications, Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council for the challenges of today and tomorrow. The damage from recent supply chain attacks, like the SolarWinds software breach, demonstrates our need for a coordinated, multifaceted, and strategic approach to protecting our networks from all threats.”
CSRIC is a federal advisory committee that provides recommendations to the Commission to improve the security, reliability, and interoperability of the nation’s communications systems. In a Public Notice released today, the Commission announced its intention to re-establish CSRIC on or before June 30, 2021 for a period of two years. This will be the FCC’s eighth charter of CSRIC, with an expected first meeting in September of 2021. The Commission is seeking nominations for membership and a chairperson for CSRIC VIII. CSRIC VII concluded its work in March of 2021.
