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A new study suggests that routers from well-known manufacturers place its users at risk for data leaks, a huge flaw which requires vulnerability management. These routers are not secure and are vulnerable to cross-router data leaks through malicious attacks. Current routers sold to consumers today offer two or more network options -- one for the family and the other for visitors. The family seeks to connect all the sensitive smart home and computer devices while the router used for visitors is for less sensitive data.
"All of the routers we surveyed regardless of brand or price point were vulnerable to at least some cross-network communication once we used specially crafted network packets. A hardware-based solution seems to be the safest approach to guaranteeing isolation between secure and non-secure network devices,” says Adar Ovadya, a master's student in Ben Gurion University (BGU) Department of Software and Information Systems Engineering.
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The research was presented at the 13th USENIX Workshop on Offensive Technologies (WOOT) which aimed to showcases a broad spectrum of topics on computer security through a forum of high-quality, peer-reviewed work.
In organizations, data traffic sent may include a range of sensitive data such as private medical information whereas less sensitive data involves multimedia streams or environmental sensor readings. The study seek to address network separation and network isolation in organizations and how these critical components maintain security policy.
Additionally, the study demonstrated the presence of varying degrees of cross-router covert channels which may be combined or exploited to control malicious implant or to exfiltrate and steal the data.
Source: Science Daily
