The U.S. is probing whether popular home internet routers sold by China’s TP-Link Technologies threaten national security and considering whether they should be banned, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, after Microsoft linked the devices to a Chinese hacking group.

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.

An influential US lawmaker on Thursday welcomed reports that President Joe Biden’s administration was investigating TP-Link, a Chinese network equipment manufacturer that controls more than 60 per cent of the American Wi-fi router market.

The potential ban on TP-Link products is part of a broader effort by the U.S. to scrutinize Chinese technology companies over security risks. Previous actions have targeted giants like Huawei and ZTE, which were accused of posing threats to national security through their telecommunications equipment.

The US government has launched a national-security investigation into TP-Link, the China-founded router maker whose equipment now dominates the American market and has been targeted in repeated Chinese cyber attacks,

The Journal reported that U.S. officials could block domestic sales of TP-Link routers next year. The ban would be implemented by OICTS, the Commerce Department office leading one of the investigations into the company. The office previously blocked Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky from selling its software in the U.S.

The Commerce Department issued a subpoena to the China-founded company seeking details about its company structure.

While the US government is investigating TP-Link, there's no evidence that it is willfully leaving its SOHO routers open to manipulation by threat actors, or that it is actively allowing the PRC to make use of vulnerabilities. However, its efforts or capabilities to secure its hardware against this kind of manipulation don't do it any favors.