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The FBI and NSA are warning of new threats targeting routers.
Attacks from Russian hackers can compromise your router.
Update the firmware and tighten your router password.
When was the last time you updated or restarted your router? As long as your internet is working, you may set up your router and then forget about it. But based on new alerts from US federal agencies, that's not such a good idea.
In new advisories published this week, both the FBI and NSA warned of Russian hackers targeting vulnerable routers around the world to steal sensitive information. Though the attackers are mostly interested in military and government secrets, home and small office users are also at risk. That's because the attackers will hijack SOHO (small office, home office) routers from which they can stage their attacks.
Also: Your home Wi-Fi isn't nearly as private as it should be - 6 free ways to lock it down
In one recent incident, the US Department of Justice and the FBI disrupted a network of compromised SOHO routers that the Russian GRU (General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate) had exploited to carry out malicious DNS hijacking operations. As Russia's military-based spy agency, the GRU is infamous for committing acts of espionage and more violent types of attacks against foreign adversaries.
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