WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is proposing that communications service providers be required to submit an annual certification attesting that they have a plan in place to protect against cyberattacks, the agency said in a statement on Thursday.The proposal is in part in response to China's alleged efforts known as Salt Typhoon to burrow deep into American telecommunications companies to steal data about U.S. calls.

"While the Commission's counterparts in the intelligence community are determining the scope and impact of the Salt Typhoon attack, we need to put in place a modern framework to help companies secure their networks and better prevent and respond to cyberattacks in the future," Rosenworcel said in a statement.