Cyber Hackers Target Home and Office Routers Worldwide

June 11, 2018

A few weeks ago hackers infected more than 500,000 home and office routers and other network devices worldwide with malware that could be used for a range of nefarious purposes.

The hackers used VPNFilter malware to target small office/home routers made by Linksys, MikroTik, Netgear, TP-Link, and on network-attached storage devices. The VPNFilter malware uses modular functionality to collect communications, intelligence, exploit LAN devices, and block actor-configurable network traffic.

Malware present on home routers could be a vulnerability. If you own a office/home router or a network-attached storage device, ITS recommends that you reboot the devices to temporarily disrupt the malware. Note, if the device was infected with the VPNFilter malware, additional steps will be needed to disinfect it. Remember to always change the default device password.

For more in depth information about the attack, updates on the situation, and a full list of targeted devices, visit: https://arstechnica.com/

Home network security: https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/tips/ST15-002