Evaluation and article: Small/cheap routers not secure

http://securityevaluators.com//content/case-studies/routers/soho_router_hacks.jsp

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57579981-83/top-wi-fi-routers-easy-to-hack-says-study/

Have these been discussed already here? The article is just couple of days old. The evaluation studied 13 SOHO routers, but haven't yet revealed all the routers yet. Those that are revealed, were:

Linksys WRT310Nv2
Belkin F5D8236-4 v2
Belkin N300
Belkin N900
Netgear WNDR4700
TP-Link WR1043N
Verizon Actiontec
D-Link DIR-865L

Here's some previous discussion on the topic:
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=335838

 

Incorrect. Even though that article is fairly sensationalist, it still highlights that most of the attacks require some form of human interaction, like a page with javascript thingie and whatnot, with your router credentials logged in and whatnot, including two local exploits with no interaction, and zero remote with no interaction. But local is unimportant.

Bottom line, don't be logged into your router if you don't have to.
Don't follow stupid links - always true, routers or not.

Mrk

 

As a retired networking guy, I highly recommend that savvy networking users read the 'Recommendations for Device Administrators' section in the first Security Evaluators link posted by 'gotagun. I find the advice given there to be accurate, relevant, and potentially important in the grand scheme of things.

 

I agree that the advice given is "accurate, relevant, and potentially important in the grand scheme of things" but I also agree the article is sensationalized because as noted by CNET, all of the routers tested had the exploitable remote access features disabled by default.

Also note it says a "moderately skilled adversary with LAN or WLAN access." This means these routers can be hacked by someone you have already given access to your network. That's a HUGE distinction the study downplays because that means your next door neighbor who sees the RF signal of your network cannot hack your network, unless you open the doors first.

This simply illustrates what unbiased security experts have been saying for years - the user (or in this case, the home network administrator) is ALWAYS the weakest link in security. Sure, we would like our hardware and software to be smarter than us and protect us from ourselves - but that typically results in a loss of control and options - something we humans don't normally like.

And regardless, it totally ignores one simple fact, a computer behind a router is MUCH more secure than a computer direct connected to the Internet.