FCC Adopts New Cybersecurity Requirements for Alerting Systems
FCC Adopts New Cybersecurity Requirements for Alerting Systems
Publish Date: 2026-06-25 12:54:00
Source Domain: www.tvtechnology.com
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WASHINGTON—In a 3-0 vote by Commissioners, the Federal Communications Commission has adopted new rules for the Emergency Alerting System (EAS) that aim to preserve the public’s trust in EAS by targeted cybersecurity upgrades to prevent cybercriminals and foreign governments from hijacking the system.“Requiring stronger password practices, timely software updates and improved security controls will help reduce opportunities for bad actors to exploit weaknesses in alerting equipment,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said.In addition, the Commission will move forward with a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks comment on additional ways to modernize EAS and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) ranging from bolstering reliability to improving geographic accuracy, the agency reported during its June Open Meeting on June 25.A notable feature of those proposals in the June 25 Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is a proposal to allow the implementation of EAS capabilities via software instead of hardware and retiring the 90-character maximum versions of WEA messages.During the meeting the Commission adopted three specific measures to help protect against hijacking by cybercriminals and our nation’s adversaries. Those require EAS Participants to use strong passwords, promptly test and install security patches issued by equipment manufacturers, and use a network firewall or comparable practice to better limit access to their equipment.
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In addition, the regulator issued a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing multiple targeted improvements that can make EAS and WEA more accurate, resilient, flexible, and useful. These proposals would improve EAS’s integrity by requiring the authentication of all alerts before they are transmitted and promote the reliability of emergency alerts by establishing a universal alert identification number to help block duplicate alerts.The Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking also explores improving geographic accuracy by eliminating outdated WEA geotargeting exceptions that often cause alerts to be received in the wrong locations and increasing alert effectiveness by requiring EAS and WEA to display symbols that match the type of emergency.The professional video industry’s #1 source for news, trends and product and tech information. Sign up below.Finally, the FCC is proposing to remove outdated requirements by allowing the implementation of EAS capabilities via software instead of hardware and retiring the 90-character maximum versions of WEA messages.
