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Linksys, Cradlepoint, and Cisco routers are all being targeted by cyber criminal networks to deploy malware or establish a botnet.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cyber Division has released a flash alert warning of an organised hacking campaign targeting several brands of routers that have reached end-of-life.
According to the FBI, these hackers are taking advantage of network hardware that is no longer supported by the vendor and feature known vulnerabilities.
The hackers are using these devices to build malicious botnets, deploy malware, and are even selling access to these devices for other cyber criminals to exploit.
“The botnets are used in various ways, such as launching coordinated attacks or selling access to the devices,” the FBI said.
“With the 5socks and Anyproxy network, criminals are selling access to compromised routers as proxies for customers to purchase and use. The proxies can be used by threat actors to obfuscate their identity or location.”
Once the malware is installed, it can communicate with the criminal’s malicious infrastructure every few minutes, ensuring the device remains compromised and open for use by paying customers. The malware in question is also capable of making configuration changes to the device.
Being based on the router itself, and not on devices connected to the router, anti-virus software cannot detect any malware, making it difficult for users to discover any active exploitation.
As well as criminal enterprises, the FBI has warned that Chinese cyber actors are also taking advantage of end-of-life routers to not only create botnets of their own but also break into critical infrastructure.
The following devices are being specifically targeted:
The FBI recommends anyone using these devices either upgrade to a router that is being actively supported by its vendor or disable remote administration and reboot their device.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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