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Republican National Convention in Milwaukee has law enforcement on heightened awareness
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Federal, state and local law enforcement officials are on high alert ahead of the Republican National Convention that will kick off in Milwaukee on Monday.
A joint threat assessment created by the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, the Milwaukee Police Department and the Milwaukee Southeastern Wisconsin Threat Analysis Center was sent out to law enforcement officials in anticipation of the RNC, calling for heightened awareness.
No credible or specific threat was identified in the assessment, a law enforcement source told CBS News on Saturday.
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The assessment found that there is concern the convention and pre- and post-celebration venues could be attractive targets for foreign terrorist organizations, homegrown violent extremists, domestic violent extremist groups, so-called lone-wolf bad actors and active shooters, a law enforcement source said.
Other key findings in the threat assessment include the convention could be viewed as an attractive target due to its symbolic nature and link to the 2024 general election.
As such, all law enforcement and security agencies will be enhancing their presence and resources during the event.
The Republican and Democratic conventions are considered high-priority events for law enforcement and are on par with other high-profile large gathering events such as the Super Bowl and presidential inaugurations.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security classifies the RNC as a SEAR -1 event, which is defined as “significant events with national and/or international importance that require extensive federal interagency support.” Federal law enforcement bulletins such as the joint threat assessment are required for all SEAR-1 events.
At least two dozen states and the District of Columbia are sending officers to the convention, according to the Milwaukee Police Department. Additional departments could be added to the list “up until the start of the convention,” officials said.
The U.S. Secret Service is the leading coordinating agency for next week’s events.
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Republicans from across the country will descend on Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum arena to nominate their candidate for president. Former President Donald Trump’s nomination this week is considered a formality as he clinched the nomination in March after amassing the 1,125 delegates needed. Trump has yet to announce a vice president.
The convention begins Monday and goes through Thursday, with the official nomination of the presidential candidate and running mate expected Monday afternoon.
Milwaukee is considered a Democratic stronghold, but hosting the convention in Wisconsin, a battleground state, puts the Republican Party’s message in front of key voters.
Nicole Spagna contributed to this report.
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The U.S. is considering banning the sale of TP-Link internet routers, which are made in China, over concerns the home devices pose a security risk, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Authorities may ban the popular routers, which were linked to Chinese cyberattacks, as early as next year when President-elect Donald Trump takes office, according to the report.
Trump has signaled that he is prepared to take a tough stance on China in his second term in office, including by introducing levies of as much as 60% on Chinese-made goods.
TP-Link says its routers do not account for a majority of the internet router devices in U.S. homes and small businesses. The routers are available for purchase on Amazon.com, where they are a best-seller. Amazon did not immediately respond to CBS MoneyWatch’s request for comment on the potential ban.
The company’s connectivity products are used by the U.S. Defense Department and other federal government agencies, too, according to the WSJ.
For its part, TP-Link told CBS MoneyWatch that the company’s “security practices are fully in line with industry security standards in the U.S.”
“We implement rigorous secure product development and testing processes, and take timely and appropriate action to mitigate known vulnerabilities,” a TP-Link spokesperson said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch.
Many consumer brands targeted by Chinese hackers
The company added that many consumer electronics brands are targeted by China-based hacking groups and that it welcomes “opportunities to engage with the federal government to demonstrate that our security practices are fully in line with industry security standards, and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the American market, American consumers and addressing U.S. national security risks.”
The Justice Department is investigating whether the routers’ relatively low price violates a law stipulating that companies can’t sell goods for less than the cost of production, the WSJ reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. On Amazon.com, a handful of router models by T-Link are available for sale with a base model costing around $99. The routers are available for sale through a business unit in California as well.
In a statement to CBS MoneyWatch, TP-Link said that while it does undercut competitor prices, it does not sell any products below cost.
Compromised routers
In October, Microsoft published an analysis which found that a Chinese hacking entity had access to a trove of compromised TP-Link routers.
“CovertNetwork-1658 specifically refers to a collection of egress IPs that may be used by one or more Chinese threat actors and is wholly comprised of compromised devices. Microsoft assesses that a threat actor located in China established and maintains this network. The threat actor exploits a vulnerability in the routers to gain remote code execution capability,” the report explains.
TP-Link said that it takes “appropriate action to mitigate any vulnerabilities” the company becomes aware of. It has also signed the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, Secure-by-Design pledge.