WASHINGTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Two U.S. lawmakers want

the Biden administration to probe China's TP-Link Technology Co

and its affiliates for potential national security risks from

their widely used WiFi routers over fears they could be used in

cyber attacks against the U.S.

Republican Representative John Moolenaar and Democratic

Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, who lead the House Select

Committee on China, requested a Commerce Department probe in a

Tuesday letter seen by Reuters.

According to research firm IDC, TP-Link, which focuses on

the consumer market, is the top seller of WiFi routers

internationally by unit volume.

In calling for an investigation, the U.S. legislators cited

known vulnerabilities in TP-Link firmware and instances of its

routers being exploited to target government officials in

European countries.

"...We request that Commerce verify the threat posed by

(China-affiliated small office/home office) routers

-particularly those offered by the world's largest manufacturer,

TP-Link," according to the letter to Commerce Secretary Gina

Raimondo.

They called it a "glaring national security issue."

The Commerce Department said it would respond to the letter

through appropriate channels. The Chinese Embassy said it hopes

authorities will "have enough evidence when identifying

cyber-related incidents, rather than make groundless

speculations and allegations."

TP-Link, founded in China in 1996 by two brothers and based

in Shenzhen, did not immediately respond to a request for

comment.

The letter is a sign of mounting concerns that Beijing could

exploit Chinese-origin routers and other equipment in cyber

attacks on American governments and businesses.

The U.S., its allies and Microsoft ( MSFT ) last year

disclosed a Chinese government-linked hacking campaign dubbed

Volt Typhoon. By taking control of privately owned routers, the

attackers sought to hide subsequent attacks on American critical

infrastructure.

The vast majority of affected routers, however, appeared to

be from Cisco ( CSCO ) and NetGear ( NTGR ), the Justice

Department said in January.

Last year, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency

said TP-Link routers had a vulnerability that could be exploited

to execute remote code.

Around the same time, U.S. security company Check Point

reported that hackers linked to a Chinese state-sponsored group

used a malicious firmware implant for TP-Link to target European

foreign affairs officials.

The Commerce Department has broad powers to ban or restrict

transactions between U.S. firms and internet, telecom and tech

companies from "foreign adversary" nations like China, Russia,

Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela if their products pose a

national security risk.