WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO KEEP YOUR ROUTER SAFE

There has been lots of talk in the press in recent weeks about Russian cyber attacks on home and office routers, as well as other networked devices. What has only recently become known is that the effect of the malware has not been limited to the United States, but has spread across the world, leaving internet users across the world at risk.

Sofacy (the name of the group of actors believed to be responsible for the attack) is accused of infecting devices with malware called VPNFilter in more than 50 countries. According to the FBI , VPNFilter attacks routers produced by several manufacturers and network-attached storage devices by at least one manufacturer.

VPNFilter malware was designed to target small office and home office routers. The malware is able to perform multiple functions, including possible information collection, device exploitation, and blocking network traffic. The malware is incredibly damaging to an infected device and has the ability to leave it unusable – possibly leaving thousands of people across the world without internet access.

Payslip recommends you do the following to secure your devices:

• Reboot routers to temporarily disrupt the malware and aid the potential identification of infected devices.
• Consider disabling remote management settings on devices and secure with strong passwords and encryption when enabled.
• Network devices should be upgraded to the latest available versions of firmware.

If you need advice, we’re happy to give you a few tips on how to make sure your device is safe. Get in touch with us – give us a call on 010 591 2080 or send an email to help@payslip.co.za.