Routers compromised by recent Russian military attack


Senecio

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UK Government and Microsoft have identified a recent attack which compromises DNS settings on vulnerable routers. The router singled out is a TP-link model. A lot more details here: Russian hacking group targets home and small office routers to spy on users
It appears that home users who don't "work from home" (i.e. log into work systems), are unlikely to be targeted. The intention is to target businesses. Nevertheless, probably worth checking DNS security on your device, especially if you have the TP-link model mentioned.
One place you can test your router is here: Test Your Router - RouterSecurity.org

John
 

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It is going to get much worse. Routers have been targeted now more than ever. I don't agree with the banning of router sales in the usa, but I would hope to see stricter security and robust firmware updating across the brands that make routers. They also need to be independently verified and pen tested.

To my knowledge, the only brand of router that has yet to have an actively ongoing full public exploited breach in the wild is peplink.
 

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I have an Asus router, and that model was definitely targeted last year. Thousands of Asus routers are being hit with stealthy, persistent backdoors
The usual caveats of changing admin password when setting up the router, and keeping its firmware updated is usually the best strategy for a home user. One of the websites I reviewed when researching this post recommended buying a new router with Wifi 7. That sounds like a good excuse for some of us to buy some shiny new hardware!
 

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    Ryzen 3900x
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    Gigabyte Aorus Master x570 rel 1.0
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    32GB (2x16) @ 3600 MHz Corsair Vengeance LPX
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    Asus Geforce RTX 5060 Ti Dual OC 16 GB
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    Dell U2718Q
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    3840x2160
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    1TB WD-Black SN850; 1TB Samsung Sata 850 Evo; 4 TB WD Blue Sata SA510 2.5''; 4TB Samsung Sata SSD 870 EVO 2.5".
    PSU
    Be Quiet Dark Power Pro 11 750W
    Case
    Lian Li PC-8FIB
    Cooling
    CPU: Noctua NH-U12A; Case: BeQuiet + Lian Li fans.
    Keyboard
    Steelseries Apex 7 brown keys.
    Mouse
    Logitech (wired) G403
    Internet Speed
    940 Mb/s down; 105 Mb/s up
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Pioneer blu-ray optical drive.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home (ARM version) (latest update)
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    Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100
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    16 GB LPDDR5
    Graphics card(s)
    Qualcomm Adreno
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touch screen 14" AMOLED monitor
    Screen Resolution
    2880x1800
    Hard Drives
    512 GB eUFS
    Internet Speed
    930 Mb/s (Wifi)
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Eset Internet Security
    Other Info
    NPU Qualcomm Hexagon
I have an Asus router, and that model was definitely targeted last year. Thousands of Asus routers are being hit with stealthy, persistent backdoors
The usual caveats of changing admin password when setting up the router, and keeping its firmware updated is usually the best strategy for a home user. One of the websites I reviewed when researching this post recommended buying a new router with Wifi 7. That sounds like a good excuse for some of us to buy some shiny new hardware!
If you live in the USA it is a terrible time to buy a router, as almost all models purchased will end update support by March 1, 2027.

I have an asus router as well. They have plenty of vulnerabilities but asus does seem to patch them quickly. The main advantage of asus routers though is the custom merlin firmware which is much more secure.
 

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    Ryzen 7 5700 X3D
    Motherboard
    MSI MPG B550 GAMING PLUS
    Memory
    64 GB DDR4 3600mhz Gskill Ripjaws V
    Graphics Card(s)
    RTX 4070 Super , 12GB VRAM Asus EVO Overclock
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gigabyte M27Q (rev. 2.0) 2560 x 1440 @ 170hz HDR
    Hard Drives
    2TB Samsung nvme ssd
    4TB Western Digital nvme ssd
    PSU
    CORSAIR RMx SHIFT Series™ RM750x 80 PLUS Gold Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
    Case
    CORSAIR 3500X ARGB Mid-Tower ATX PC Case – Black
    Cooling
    ID-COOLING FROSTFLOW X 240 CPU Water Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech G213
    Mouse
    Logitech G203
    Internet Speed
    1.2gbps Fiber 😎
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    HP Chromebook
    CPU
    Intel Pentium Quad Core
    Memory
    4GB LPDDR4
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14 Inch HD SVA anti glare micro edge display
    Hard Drives
    64 GB emmc
I consider the router as the enemy, I try to be as disconnected from it as possible.
Luckily DNS in the router does not matter much, Browser > Windows > router.
 

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