The FBI and the NSA advise owners to check the DNS settings, update the firmware and replace the models without support.
The FBI remotely dropped the settings of thousands of home and office routers to knock Russian government hackers out of the systems. The agents went to extreme measures after cybercriminals turned the old routers of the Americans into a spy network. The attackers intercepted Internet traffic for years, stole passwords, and gained access to working records of military and officials.
Many users have not changed routers for years, because the technique has been working properly for decades. Manufacturers, by contrast, quickly stop supporting old models and no longer release protective updates. Without fresh patches, the equipment remains defenseless against modern cyber threats. Hackers took advantage of the gap in safety and massively attacked popular devices of the TP-link brand.
The special operation, code-named "Masquerade", was held with the court's approval. FBI agents developed a special code and sent commands to infected devices. The program cleared the settings of malicious servers, returned the legitimate addresses of Internet providers and blocked access to hackers. Representatives of the US Department of Justice assured that the actions of the special services did not disrupt the work of the Internet and did not affect the personal data of citizens.
Special services recommend owners of TP-Link routers, especially the popular Archer C5, Archer C7 series, as well as WR and WDR lines, carefully check the equipment. Owners of suddenly resetting devices are advised to quickly buy new devices. To protect the home network, you will have to change factory logins and passwords, prohibit tuning the router over the Internet and updating the built-in software. Employees at a remote time are advised to include VPNa VPN so that important working data does not leak to attackers.
The FBI remotely dropped the settings of thousands of home and office routers to knock Russian government hackers out of the systems. The agents went to extreme measures after cybercriminals turned the old routers of the Americans into a spy network. The attackers intercepted Internet traffic for years, stole passwords, and gained access to working records of military and officials.
Many users have not changed routers for years, because the technique has been working properly for decades. Manufacturers, by contrast, quickly stop supporting old models and no longer release protective updates. Without fresh patches, the equipment remains defenseless against modern cyber threats. Hackers took advantage of the gap in safety and massively attacked popular devices of the TP-link brand.
The special operation, code-named "Masquerade", was held with the court's approval. FBI agents developed a special code and sent commands to infected devices. The program cleared the settings of malicious servers, returned the legitimate addresses of Internet providers and blocked access to hackers. Representatives of the US Department of Justice assured that the actions of the special services did not disrupt the work of the Internet and did not affect the personal data of citizens.
Special services recommend owners of TP-Link routers, especially the popular Archer C5, Archer C7 series, as well as WR and WDR lines, carefully check the equipment. Owners of suddenly resetting devices are advised to quickly buy new devices. To protect the home network, you will have to change factory logins and passwords, prohibit tuning the router over the Internet and updating the built-in software. Employees at a remote time are advised to include VPNa VPN so that important working data does not leak to attackers.
