The China-U.S. trade war has reignited, this time spreading to the telecommunications market. The Wall Street Journal revealed on Wednesday that Chinese router giant TP-Link is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, and Department of Justice due to suspicions related to multiple cyberattack incidents, posing a national security threat, and could potentially be banned next year. (Background: Huawei chip ban) Bitmain is likely to face supply shortages from TSMC! All L9 mining machines cannot be produced and delivered) (Background: TSMC chips were urgently cut off after mysteriously 'flowing to Huawei': Reported to the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. senators demand an explanation) The China-U.S. trade war has escalated again. On Wednesday (18), the Wall Street Journal cited insider information revealing that one of the highest-selling router brands globally, TP-Link, founded in Shenzhen, China, is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, and Department of Justice, and may be banned from selling its routers in the U.S. as early as 2025 on national security grounds. Insiders also stated that the Department of Defense initiated an investigation into TP-Link routers earlier this year, and one office of the Department of Commerce even issued a subpoena to the company. Since TP-Link holds a 65% market share in the U.S. for home and small business routers and is a best-selling brand on Amazon, collaborating with over 300 internet service providers, including many U.S. government agencies like NASA, the Pentagon, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, a ban on TP-Link could become the largest scale ban of Chinese telecom equipment since the U.S. placed Huawei on its trade blacklist in 2019, potentially affecting millions of U.S. households and businesses. TP-Link is under suspicion of being involved in multiple cyberattacks. Due to suspicions that TP-Link routers are related to several cyberattack incidents, U.S. authorities have raised alarms. In August this year, two U.S. senators urged the Biden administration to investigate this Chinese router manufacturer and its subsidiaries due to concerns that their Wi-Fi routers might be used to launch cyberattacks against the U.S. A report by Microsoft in October revealed that a Chinese hacker group utilized thousands of infected TP-Link routers to establish a botnet, targeting Western think tanks, government agencies, and Department of Defense suppliers. Additionally, Reuters pointed out that the U.S., its allies, and Microsoft disclosed a hacker operation called Volt Typhoon last year, allegedly linked to the Chinese government, which sought to hide attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure by controlling private routers to build a botnet. However, most of the routers controlled at that time were products from Cisco and NetGear, highlighting the widespread issue of router vulnerabilities. The Chinese embassy in Washington protested: Suppressing under the guise of national security. Insiders also indicated that TP-Link routers have security vulnerabilities, but the company has not responded actively. A spokesperson for TP-Link's California subsidiary stated that the company is willing to cooperate with the U.S. government to assess and address security risks. However, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington protested that the U.S. is using the name of national security to suppress Chinese companies, and China will firmly defend the legitimate rights and interests of its enterprises. Currently, the Taiwanese government and educational institutions have banned TP-Link routers, and India has also issued safety warnings regarding the company's routers. Telecommunications stocks benefit and surge. The investigation by the U.S. government into TP-Link is still ongoing, and whether sanctions will be imposed is expected to be decided during Trump's term. However, if TP-Link withdraws from the U.S., the largest router sales market globally (accounting for 44% of global sales in 2023), the resulting gap will make many competitors eager to capitalize. On Wednesday's closing, NetGear rose by 4.79%, and after-hours trading surged over 12%. Furthermore, since TP-Link is a mainstream communications equipment brand in Taiwan, if it truly faces U.S. export controls, it is expected to have a significant impact on Taiwan, and the global router market landscape is also anticipated to experience major changes, with Taiwanese telecommunications brands and factories likely benefiting. Today, the telecommunications brand D-Link (2332) surged 9.81% in early trading, hitting the upper limit, and its subsidiary D-Link (6142) also soared 9.86% to reach the upper limit, with the OEM factory Chicony (5388) rising over 8%, and others including Zyxel (3447), QNAP (6285), Accton (3704), Advantech (3596), and Axiomtek (3558) also showing significant gains.