Former DHS chief warns phone deal could hurt national security

Former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff is wading into a battle over control of the little-known system used to route calls to millions of phone numbers in the U.S.

In a 44-page report, Chertoff’s consultant firm warned the Federal Communications Commission on Monday that a bid to allow a subsidiary of the Swedish telecom company Ericsson to run the system was “insufficient in both scope and specificity” and could hamper spy agencies.

{mosads}The problems “are serious,” the firm added.

If one of the country’s seven centers for assigning numbers were compromised “telephone calls and text messages might not be completed, many search warrants and subpoenas might not be served correctly, and our system for prioritizing communications in a national emergency might not function,” it claimed.

For more than a decade, the Virginia firm Neustar has been in charge of managing the number routing system, which is necessary to connect calls and send text messages to more than 650 million American and Canadian phone numbers. The system allows people to retain their phone number, even after switching carriers, such as Verizon or AT&T.

But this summer, the North American Numbering Council recommended that an Ericsson subsidiary should replace it.

Neustar has fired back with a lobbying campaign, including the hiring of Chertoff’s group.

Critics of the switch have feared that the bidding terms did not adequately promote national security and could lead to a weaker system.

Last month, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency and Secret Service warned the FCC — which is overseeing the bid — that federal officials needed to be able to access the phone routing system to track criminals without the company’s knowledge.

“Law enforcement cannot afford to have a lapse in this vital service,” the agencies claimed.

Earlier in the summer, leaders of the House Intelligence Committee echoed those fears.

“We are concerned that the bidding and selection process will not adequately address the inherent national security issues involved in this database,” Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) wrote.