W A S H I N G T O N, D C

My fellow Americans:

Fifth generation wireless technology, or 5G, will be a primary driver of our Nation’s prosperity 

and security in the 21st century. This new technology will provide consumers, businesses, and 

governments with remarkably fast network connections that will enable tens of billions of new 

devices to harness the power of the Internet, transforming the way we live, work, learn, and 

communicate.

This advancement, however, also ushers new risks and vulnerabilities. 

Malicious actors are already seeking to exploit 5G technology. This is a target-rich 

environment for those with nefarious motives due to the number and types of devices it will 

connect and the large volume of data that those devices will transmit. 

This National Strategy to Secure 5G articulates my vision for America to lead the development, 

deployment, and management of secure and reliable 5G communications infrastructure 

worldwide, arm-in-arm with our closest partners and allies, including:

 Facilitating domestic 5G rollout; 

 Assessing the risks and identifying core security principles for 5G infrastructure;

 Managing the risks to our economic and national security from the use of 5G infrastructure; 

and 

 Promoting responsible global development and deployment of 5G infrastructure. 

My Administration is committed to protecting America’s national security, promoting our 

prosperity, and preserving our civil liberties and democratic ideals. Ensuring the security, 

reliability, and trustworthiness of our 5G infrastructure is essential to these endeavors. This 

strategy explains how we will do just that. 
Sincerely,

President Donald J. Trump

The White House 

March 2020
Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Line of Effort 1: Facilitate Domestic 5G Rollout 2

Line of Effort 2: Assess Risks to & Identify Core Security Principles of 5G Infrastructure 3

Assess the Risks Posed by Cyber Threats to and Vulnerabilities in 5G Infrastructure 3

Develop Security Principles for 5G Infrastructure in the United States 3

Line of Effort 3: Address Risks to United States Economic and National Security 4

During Development and Deployment of 5G Infrastructure Worldwide

Manage the Supply Chain Risks in United States Government Infrastructure, Including 5G 4

Address the Risk of ‘High-Risk’ Vendors in United States 5G Infrastructure 4

Line of Effort 4: Promote Responsible Global Development and Deployment of 5G 6

Develop and Promote Implementation of International 5G Security Principles 6

Promote United States Leadership in International Standards Development and Adoption 6

Incentivize Market Competitiveness and Diversity of Secure 5G Infrastructure Options 6
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Introduction

The United States and like-minded countries will lead global development, deployment, 

and management of secure and reliable fifth-generation (5G) communications 

infrastructure, which includes hardware, software, and services used to provide 5G. The 

United States will work with our like-minded partners to establish policies and 

structures to leap ahead of global industry competitors as 5G standards, 5G technology, 

and applications that ride on 5G technology evolve. 

The United States National Cyber Strategy states that:

The Administration will facilitate the accelerated development and rollout of nextgeneration telecommunications and information communications infrastructure 

here in the United States, while using the buying power of the Federal Government 

to incentivize the move towards more secure supply chains. The United States 

Government will work with the private sector to facilitate the evolution and security 

of 5G, examine technological and spectrum-based solutions, and lay the 

groundwork for innovation beyond next-generation advancements.

This National Strategy to Secure 5G expands on how the United States Government will 

secure 5G infrastructure domestically and abroad. 5G infrastructure will be an attractive 

target for criminals and foreign adversaries due to the large volume of data it transmits 

and processes as well as the support that 5G will provide to critical infrastructure. 

Criminals and foreign adversaries will seek to steal information transiting the networks 

for monetary gain and exploit these systems and devices for intelligence collection and 

surveillance. Adversaries may also disrupt or maliciously modify the public and private 

services that rely on communications infrastructure. Given these threats, 5G 

infrastructure must be secure and reliable to maintain information security and address 

risks to critical infrastructure, public health and safety, and economic and national 

security.

This National Strategy to Secure 5G will fulfill the goals of the National Cyber Strategy 

with four lines of effort: (1) facilitating the rollout of 5G domestically; (2) assessing the 

cybersecurity risks to and identifying core security principles of 5G capabilities and 

infrastructure; (3) addressing risks to United States economic and national security 

during development and deployment of 5G infrastructure worldwide; and (4) promoting 

responsible global development and deployment of secure and reliable 5G 

infrastructure.
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Line of Effort 1: 

Facilitate Domestic 5G Rollout

The Administration is facilitating the private sector-led domestic rollout of 5G, primarily 

coordinated by the National Economic Council. The Federal Communication 

Commission’s (FCC) strategy to Facilitate America’s Superiority in 5G Technology (the 

5G FAST Plan): (1) makes more spectrum available for commercial use; (2) streamlines 

government processes for approving 5G infrastructure deployment; and (3) modernizes 

regulations to promote deployment of 5G backhaul.1 In addition, the October 25, 2018 

Presidential Memorandum on Developing a Sustainable Spectrum Strategy for 

America’s Future directed the Secretary of Commerce to issue a National Spectrum 

Strategy, which will lay out a long-term plan for spectrum management for 5G and 

future generations of advanced wireless networks, to include both space and terrestrial 

systems. 

The Administration will also continue to work aggressively with the private sector, as 

well as like-minded partners and allies to foster and promote the research, 

development, testing, and evaluation of new technologies and architectures that 

advance the state-of-the-art technology for 5G and beyond. 

 

1 https://www.fcc.gov/5G
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Line of Effort 2: 

Assess Risks to & Identify Core Security 

Principles of 5G Infrastructure

The United States Government will promote secure and reliable 5G infrastructure by 

regularly assessing the economic and national security and other risks to this 

infrastructure, including defining and maintaining the relevant core security principles 

for this infrastructure. 

Assess the Risks Posed by Cyber Threats to and Vulnerabilities in 5G Infrastructure

The United States Government, in partnership with State, local, and tribal governments 

as well as private sector partners, will seek to continuously identify and characterize 

economic, national security, and other risks posed by cyber threats to and 

vulnerabilities in 5G infrastructure. This effort will include maintaining an 

understanding of the global 5G market and 5G capabilities and infrastructure, including 

both space and terrestrial components. This activity will be done with appropriate 

intergovernmental, interagency, and private-sector engagement.

Develop Security Principles for 5G Infrastructure in the United States

The United States Government will work with the private sector to identify, develop, and 

apply core security principles - best practices in cybersecurity, supply chain risk 

management, and public safety - to United States 5G infrastructure. The principles will 

be synchronized with other security principles endorsed by the United States 

Government, such as the “Prague Proposals” from the Prague 5G Security Conference 

in May 2019. 
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Line of Effort 3: 

Address Risks to United States Economic and 

National Security During Development and 

Deployment of 5G Infrastructure Worldwide

The United States Government will address the risks presented by the use of 5G to its 

economic and national security by analyzing the risks of 5G infrastructure and ensuring 

national critical functions and national essential functions are structured in such a way 

that they are resilient to these risks.

Manage the Supply Chain Risks in United States Government Infrastructure, Including 

5G

The Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018 creates a unified, whole-ofgovernment approach to protecting Federal systems from supply chain risks in covered 

articles, including but not limited to telecommunications equipment and services. 

Through the Federal Acquisition Security Council created by the Act, the United States 

Government will identify or develop supply chain risk management standards, 

guidelines, and practices for executive agencies to use when assessing and mitigating 

supply chain risks. The Act includes a structure for preventing the use and procurement 

of sources or covered articles, which may include 5G equipment, in executive agency 

information systems.

Address the Risk of ‘High-Risk’ Vendors in United States 5G Infrastructure

The United States Government will ensure that 5G and future generations of information 

and communications technology and services will be deployed in a manner that 

protects the national security interests of the United States. Executive Order (E.O.) 

13873, issued on May 15, 2019, on “Securing the Information and Communications 

Technology and Services Supply Chain” establishes the authorities to prohibit certain 

transactions that involve information and communications technology or services 

designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, 

or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary that pose an undue or 

unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States. The United States 

Government’s implementation of E.O. 13873 is designed to integrate and synchronize 

with activities by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, the Federal 
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Acquisition Security Council, and United States Government reviews of certain Federal 

Communication Commission licenses involving foreign ownership. The United States 

Government will leverage these robust activities to address the risk of high-risk vendors 

in the 5G infrastructure. 
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Line of Effort 4: 

Promote Responsible Global Development and 

Deployment of 5G 

The United States will work with like-minded countries to lead the responsible 

international development and deployment of 5G technology and will work to promote 

the availability of secure and reliable equipment and services in the market. 

Develop and Promote Implementation of International 5G Security Principles 

The United States Government will participate in the development of international 5G 

security principles through frameworks, such as the Prague 5G Security Conference. 

The United States Government will work bilaterally and multilaterally with foreign 

partners and allies to promote implementation of the 5G security principles within the 

“Prague Proposals” document that came out of this conference in May 2019. 

Promote United States Leadership in International Standards Development and 

Adoption 

The United States Government will work to preserve and enhance United States 

leadership on 5G in relevant organizations that set standards in concert with the private 

sector, including but not limited to commercial, academic, and like-minded 

international partners. This will include efforts such as expanding Federal interagency 

coordination, participation, and influence in standards-setting organizations. The 

United States will emphasize the need for open and transparent processes to develop 

timely, technically robust, and appropriate standards. The United States will promote 

and support increased participation by the private sector and ensure that such 

participation is informed by appropriate public-private coordination.

Incentivize Market Competitiveness and Diversity of Secure 5G Infrastructure Options 

The United States Government will work with the private sector, academia, and 

international government partners to adopt policies, standards, guidelines, and 

procurement strategies that reinforce 5G vendor diversity to foster market competition. 

The United States Government will join private sector and international partners in 

designing market-base incentives, accountability mechanisms, and evaluation schemas 

to assess diversity, component transparency, fair financing, and competition across the 
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5G technology landscape as a means to better secure the global network and protect 

American values of openness, security, and interoperability.