Attacks on Routers – When we connect to the Internet, many devices, functions, and features are important for everything to go smoothly. The fact that some link in the chain is broken could leave us offline or make it very limited. With no doubt, one of the most vital issues is the router and its proper functioning. Sometimes you may experience security problems that compromise good use. In this article, we are going away to talk about what are the most frequent types of attacks against routers and what we can do at the user level to avoid them.
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These are Some More Frequent Attacks Against Routers
Modify DNS Settings
One of the most frequent attacks that we can suffer on our routers are attacks that seek to modify the DNS configuration. It has been present in different countries in recent times, and that can undoubtedly put users’ security and privacy at risk.
Where is this? When we put an address in the browser, our router what it does is redirect us to a specific site. It interprets the letters and numbers that we put, it is the domain, and it shows us the corresponding page with it. What hackers do is modify the DNS configuration, which is what makes the router interpret those pages that we put.
In this way, if we are entering an address to enter our bank account, it takes us directly to the bank’s page. The same with anything. However, if they have managed to modify that DNS configuration by entering the values, it could redirect us to a page that has been maliciously modified. Pretend to be, for example, the bank we mentioned, but in reality, it is a site controlled by cybercriminals. In this way, they could steal our data.
IP Spoofing
This is how the attacks through which they manage to inject malicious code into our network. This would allow them to gain unauthorized access and have control. Logically this also puts our security and privacy at risk.
Basically, what they do through IP Spoofing is to modify our data packets. It is vital to protect ourselves against this type of attack, regardless of whether we are very active Internet users or not.
DoS Attack
It is, with no doubt, one of the most popular types of attacks on networks. They typically attack major organizations or business network systems. But our router may also be part of a botnet.
What can cause this type of attack is a denial of service(DoS), as its name suggests. It makes it crash, and it is impossible or almost impossible to navigate. They can attack specific websites, various platforms, and also private routers.
Steal Our Access Codes
You can not miss one of the most popular attacks, such as the attempt to steal Wi-Fi passwords. We already know that protecting our networks is vital, but we don’t always do it correctly.
Hackers can try to access a Wi-Fi network through different attack methods. Their objective is none other than to obtain the access code and enter. This could compromise our security as well as compromise the speed of the Internet.
Create Fake Networks
Although this does not directly affect our router, it is a type of attack that is related to our networks. Indeed, this is not something familiar against private users, since it is more oriented to companies or shops.
Basically, what cybercriminals do is create fake networks that pretend to be ours. They create it with the same name to confuse users who try to access it. In this way, they could redirect traffic and even steal information and data from victims.
How to Protect Ourselves From this Type of Attack?
We must become aware that there are many types of attacks that our router could suffer. Therefore, it is convenient that we protect it correctly. For this, we are going to give a series of tips.
The first and most significant thing is not to keep your startup passwords and settings. That is, it is vital to change the name of the network, the Wi-Fi password, and also the credentials to access the router. This is basic and must take into account.
You should also always keep the firmware correctly updated. Sometimes vulnerabilities can arise that are exploited by hackers to deploy attacks. It is interesting always to have the latest versions, and thus, in addition to improving performance, we will maintain security.
It is also interesting to be aware of possible vulnerabilities that affect network protocols. Today WPA2 is the safest way to protect our Wi-Fi network. We must avoid WEP encryption. For example, it is obsolete.