WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission has voted to move forward with a proposal to establish a new call authentication requirement aimed at restricting criminal access to the U.S. calling network, the ABA Banking Journal reported.
According to the ABA Banking Journal, current FCC rules mandate that voice service providers implement the “STIR/SHAKEN” call authentication framework, which requires calls to be signed at the point of origin and verified throughout the call path until reaching the recipient. However, STIR/SHAKEN operates only on IP networks and is not compatible with non-IP networks.
“The proposed rulemaking issued today would require voice service providers that use a non-IP network – that is, a legacy time division multiplexing network – to implement a caller ID authentication framework for that non-IP network within two years,” the ABA Banking Journal explained.
In a statement, Paul Benda, EVP for risk, fraud and cybersecurity at ABA, applauded the FCC vote, calling it an important step forward in the fight against fraud.
“Voice calls that impersonate banks and other legitimate businesses harm consumers and undermine those businesses’ ability to communicate with their customers,” Benda said. “While the FCC has made strides to limit criminal access to the nation’s calling network, bad actors have exploited this gap in our caller ID authentication framework to commit consumer fraud.”