“Turn off your router now,” says FBI.
According to the FBI Russian malware called Fancy Bear has infected thousands of routers and has the potential to spread quickly. The malware can allow the perpetrators to collect information by reading people’s internet activity, like email, web browsing, passwords etc..
The FBI states people should turn off their routers and then back on again to help stop the spread of this malicious attack. You should also update the firmware and change passwords to your WiFi and the admin control panel. I know how we all have password fatigue, so at the very least restart the router.
The warning came after a court order that allowed the FBI to seize a website domain that hackers had planed to use to give instructions to the routers. Even though that cut off the malicious communications, it still left the routes infected. Fancy Bear and APT28 have been responsible for many of the most famous Russian hacks, including the one on the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 U.S.. presidential campaign.
The affected routers targeted are from Belkin, Linksys, MikroTik, Netgear, TP-Link and QNAP. However it is believed other kinds of devices are vulnerable.
This threat should not be taken lightly and you should take the recommended actions today.