Do you have a wireless router? Many people do, and if you're one of them you'll want to pay special attention to this post.
According to this post on Ars Technica, a whopping 300,000 wireless routers have been hacked, and not just for fun; the attackers have been using a modification of what is formally known as a pharming attack. This kind of attack is normally run against two specific targets: The first are Domain Name System (DNS) servers that are used to reconcile the web address a user types in with the numerical address the computer understands, and the second are 'Host' files on your PC that do the same thing.
In the wireless-router attack, attackers are able to remotely access the router and redirect legitimately and correctly entered web addresses (such as www.bankofamerica.com) to a fraudulent website, even though the correct address was entered. You won't realize you have gone to the wrong website since the fraudulent one is almost an exact copy, so you'll still enter your username and password, and then the hackers have it. We will talk about things like numerical web addresses and remote servers and whatnot later in the semester, but I have included an interesting and informative video below to give an idea about how this type of attack works.
While redirecting users to malicious sites based off of accurately entered web addresses is nothing new, but it was not that common a practice. With this attack, they are stepping up their game in a big way, and to make it even more concerning, an attack of this type is very difficult for a user to notice. There would be some subtle issues like the HTTPS before the full address, but if you're not paying attention it's an easy thing to overlook.
The attacks, from what I can tell, haven't yet happened in the U.S., and they haven't attacked Linksys routers, the most widely used here in the U.S. by far, but my guess is that they are using the routers in other countries as a test run before they try something really big. For now, if you're router looks like the one below (or is made by Cisco/Linksys) you should be generally OK.
According to the Ars Technica article, you can tell if you've been hacked as the DNS settings in your router, accessed by typing a specific numerical address specified by the manufacturer into a browser bar, have been changed to 5.45.75.11 and 5.45.76.36. Again, it won't be any of you, but it's a possibility to be aware of in the future.
Wow, thank you for alerting us about this! As I mentioned before, I was late in the technology area and let alone the security aspect of having internet. I try to learn as much as possible about how to keep our identity protected because many people in my household share the same computers and router. This is very frightening for me because if we were attacked, my mother or father would have no idea about what pharming or phishing is. I have been trying to educate them a little more, but I still don’t think they fully understand how dangerous it is. My parents are the main users of paying bills online and logging into their website. I hope these hackers are caught. It’s going to minimize many problems.
ReplyDeleteI agree, its very scary what people can do to pull your information. Like you, I am very much in the dark ages with technology, and try to learn as much as possible not only in the this class, but anywhere I can. Years ago I did have a wireless router, but I could not get it figured out, and now I am kinda relieved that I didn't. I am cautious when I send information, but I don't know if I would be able to avoid something as subtle as the one in this blog.
DeleteMya Taylor
I am also a late bloomer. My kids make fun of me because of my lack of technology knowledge. Back in my days, we didn't have to worry about all this. We just made sure to tear our mail into little pieces and that would not allow the thief's to get your information.
DeleteIt's good to keep well informed, just the way they have hacked governments, military or companies like Target and Neiman Marcus, they can target all of us, and it will be harder for your average to realize they have been hacked if they are not computer savvy or pay close attention to their computers. I'm mostly afraid of what will happen if they hack my router directly instead of bank of America, will bank of America then return the money they steal from me if the robbery wasn't their fault?
ReplyDeleteThis is a cyber-crime that I wasn't well aware of so thank you for sharing this information. I have heard of phishing in the past, but never "pharming." Fortunately, I have a Cisco/Linksy router, so hopefully I am not targeted. Although this hasn't spread to the United States yet, there's a big chance it could in the future. With all this hacking going on lately, I wouldn't be surprised. Is anything really "secure" anymore? If so, how can hackers get into the most elaborate and complex systems?
ReplyDeleteThis is crazy how would of thought that our routers can be a form to hack our stuff now. As they say crime never sleeps, they are becoming very sophisticated in hacking our systems. Thank you for informing us, I hope that the companies that produce routers can encrypt or make it harder for them to pharm us. But in my eyes it has always seemed like with enough determination anyone can "crack" the code and still keep up with stealing our personal files. Pretty soon every internet application is going to have a big warning sign stating "ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK".
ReplyDeleteThank you for the inforamtion. Like Sergio said companies that manufacture these routers need to do something to protects us from those hackers. I had email address that I spread everywhere and soon alot of the phishing email came to my junk folder. Some were about Bank of America saying that my information was compromised. I was like but I don't have a bank account. I stoped using that email address and create a new one.
ReplyDeleteThis is very scary! Thank you so much for sharing the information with us. I currently have a Cisco router and have always been scared of someone being able to access it and look at things or download things they aren't supposed to using my IP address. This is why I have it set up to require a password to connect but now that I have read this, I'm not sure how "protecting" that is. Is it just giving me a false sense of security?
ReplyDeleteI remember getting the message saying that their security license had expired but I didn't think much of it and closed that window and kept going about what I was doing not knowing that it could be a potential scam. I have also had windows pop up telling me that my Java was out of date and needed to be updated but it is not Java at all...it was some other program that I was stupid enough to download but smart enough to catch before I actually ran the .exe file. Lesson learned.
I am glad I read this post, becuase do have a wireless router within my home. It is scary to know that someone can actually hack into your router (which I wouldnt think would be possible) and steal your personal information and you wont even know it until you actual do some investigation.
ReplyDeleteWoW this is crazy after seeing this a lot more comes to my mind and in lets say these hackers are not only doing to to get people's information and take there identity but what about if it goes to a bigger extension and it's the new way of starting a war. We realy have to think before acting now and days. For example we all have the habit of jumping into any public WI-Fi signal just because it will save us data but now is it worth the risk?
ReplyDeleteHackers have definitely come a long way in making their way into your personal information. This is scary to know they are getting into our homes this easy. Most people, myself included, are in a hurry to go on-line do their banking, purchase merchandise, and we don't always pay attention to the address. I like the fact they are making people more aware of what types of threats are out there. I think there needs to be more cyber awareness articles to read about. Last year I got a virus from what looked like a Java update. I should have been more cautious before I accepted the update.
ReplyDeleteIt's just one of the many new areas of development that will attract bad elements of society. I try not to access anything important when I'm on public Wi-Fi. I have a modem/router combination with a commercial grade built-in Firewall on my system at home. But, you always have to be aware because something new is always developing.
ReplyDeleteIt took me a long time to get somewhat comfortable doing personal things on a computer. This is due to all of the warnings about hacking. As times have changed I have had my computer tech guy keep up with keeping my home router as protected as I can. I do agree with the password being a huge part of keeping people out. Do not make it easy for people to get into your router. I also know that I am in no way as knowledgeable about routers as the people hacking them. I rarely will use public Wi-Fi and never do any thing personal when using a public Wi-Fi. Don't be naïve and always be cautious.
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