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What Wyden’s Draft Telecom Cybersecurity Bill Would Require

Wyden’s Secure American Communications Act draft would direct the FCC to set telecom cybersecurity rules and require annual testing, audits and reporting—but it is not enacted law.
From TheFinanceBase Team2 min to read
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Sen. Ron Wyden released a draft bill on December 10, 2024, that would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to set binding cybersecurity rules for telecommunications carriers. The Secure American Communications Act would also require annual testing, remediation, independent audits and reporting. The available sources establish a released draft, not a formally introduced, passed or enacted law, so it does not create current obligations for carriers.

What would Wyden’s draft require?

The Secure American Communications Act would direct the FCC to issue binding cybersecurity regulations for telecommunications systems. The Commission would design the requirements in consultation with the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Director of National Intelligence. The draft’s one-page summary does not prescribe specific technical controls; it assigns their development to the FCC and those agencies.

Wyden’s announcement says the rules would aim to prevent unauthorized interception, including activity involving advanced persistent threats. The proposal lays out recurring carrier duties:

  • Test annually: Carriers would test their systems for susceptibility to unauthorized interception.
  • Correct and document: Carriers would take indicated corrective measures and keep documentation of test findings and responses.
  • Obtain an independent audit: An independent auditor would assess compliance each year. Carriers would document audit findings, including any noncompliance.
  • Report to the FCC annually: Submissions would include test and audit records and a written compliance statement signed by the CEO and CISO, or equivalent officers.

The draft summary does not establish particular implementation deadlines, penalties or a schedule for the FCC’s rulemaking. Wyden’s December 10, 2024 announcement and the bill one-page summary describe the proposal.

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How does the proposal relate to CALEA and later FCC action?

The statutory backdrop is the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), enacted in 1994. As summarized by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Section 105 requires carriers to ensure that interception of communications, or access to call-identifying information at switching premises, occurs only with a court order or other lawful authorization and affirmative intervention by a carrier employee. CALEA also gives the FCC rulemaking responsibilities.

On January 16, 2025, the FCC issued a declaratory ruling interpreting Section 105 as imposing cybersecurity duties on carriers. The ruling identified practices including role-based access, changing default passwords, minimum password strength, multifactor authentication and patching known vulnerabilities. On November 21, 2025, the FCC issued an order on reconsideration that rescinded that ruling and announced a revised interpretation and policy. The January ruling should therefore not be described as still in effect.

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What did GAO decide in July 2026?

On July 29, 2026, GAO concluded that the FCC’s November 2025 reconsideration order met the Administrative Procedure Act definition of a rule for purposes of the Congressional Review Act (CRA), that no exception applied, and that the order was subject to CRA submission requirements. GAO’s conclusion concerns the FCC order; it does not decide the status or validity of Wyden’s draft bill. The decision is a GAO legal determination, not a court judgment. See GAO decision B-338053.

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