In the age of ransomware attacks and other data breaches, securing your network is more important than ever—and that includes Wi-Fi. Watch out for these common router attacks that can put a company offline relatively easily.
4 Common Router Attacks
1. Distributed Denial of Service
What is it?
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) router attacks are among the most difficult to prevent, because they can occur without warning.
A DDoS attack might go something like this:
- A hacker uses a form of malware to infect hundreds, or even thousands, of computers
- The hacker coordinates all of the infected computers to send data packets to the targeted router
- The sheer volume of incoming data overwhelms the router and knocks it offline
How to prevent it
As mentioned previously, DDoS attacks are incredibly hard to stop due to the fact that they often strike instantly.
It’s highly recommended to use a behavior monitoring and intrusion prevention system in order to detect an incoming DDoS attack. Additionally, firewalls are capable of preventing small-scale DDoS attacks.
2. Brute Force
What is it
A brute forces attack involves a hacker using a type of software that rapidly guesses random passwords to a Wi-Fi network or router until the right one is entered. From there, the hacker can access virtually any device that’s connected to the Wi-Fi.
How to prevent it
The best way to prevent brute force router attacks is to use a strong, complex password that is difficult to crack. Use this secure tool to test how long it might take the average password cracking software to guess your credentials.
3. Zero-Day Exploits
What is it
Zero-day vulnerabilities are unintended flaws that cybercriminals can easily exploit in order to breach a device or network.
How to prevent it
One of the best ways to prevent zero-day exploits is to be proactive and check occasionally with the manufacturer of your router to see if there are any firmware updates available. In addition, take steps to secure the rest of your network, so even you do get breached by a zero-day exploit, there’s not much else the hacker can take advantage of.
4. Malware
What is it?
Malicious software contracted from websites and email attachments can not only infect a computer, but a router as well. Once malware infects a router, it can do anything from changing its DNS settings to siphoning sensitive data from the network.
How to prevent it
Similarly to preventing brute force attacks, it’s highly recommended that you use a strong, complex password to thwart router attacks involving malware. Additionally, check for security updates from your router manufacturer regularly.
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