The biggest threat to your router is a weak password or other security vulnerability, such as an enabled WPS ( Wi-Fi Protected Setup) PIN. The 2018 cryptomining attack targeting MikroTik routers is a notorious example of how hackers create malicious scripts to target specific router operating systems. While many routers use a Linux-based OS, some router manufacturers create their own. Like any other device with an operating system (OS), your router is vulnerable to malware, such as the VPNFilter and Switcher Trojan threats described above. If it gains entry, it’ll alter the victim’s DNS settings so that they’ll be redirected to phishing websites in the future. At this point, the exploit kit automatically identifies the router on the victim’s network and attempts to hack it. In these attacks, when a victim visits a hacked website, their traffic is redirected to another site that hosts the GhostDNS exploit kit. In 2019, our threat experts here at AVG observed a spike in the use of the GhostDNS exploit kit to attack victims in Brazil. It’s estimated that by mid-2018, VPNFilter had infected over half a million devices around the world. Unlike Switcher, VPNFilter directly infected routers via a worm that targeted known security vulnerabilities, and victims could remove it only by performing a hard factory reset on their router. VPNFilter is a more recent instance of router malware. This type of attack is known as DNS hijacking, and since a router infection can affect an entire network, any connected devices are at risk.

Having gained access to the router, the attacker would then change its DNS settings to redirect internet traffic to servers owned by the cybercriminals. (That’s why it’s so important to protect your router with a strong and unique password.)

Once installed on a victim’s phone, the Switcher Trojan router malware would try to gain access to the router through a brute-force attack, which is when a hacker tries to infiltrate a system by trying tons passwords and login credentials with the aim of eventually hitting on a match.

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