The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning that a new malware threat has rapidly infected more than half-a-million consumer devices. The FBI and security firms are urging home Internet users to reboot routers and network-attached storage devices made by a range of technology manufacturers to help stop the spread of the malware.
The growing menace — dubbed VPNFilter — targets Linksys, MikroTik, NETGEAR and TP-Link networking equipment in the small and home office space, as well as QNAP network-attached storage (NAS) devices, according to researchers at Cisco.
Experts currently know the malware can do two things well: Steal Web site credentials; and issue a self-destruct command, effectively rendering infected devices inoperable for most consumers.
According to Cisco, here’s a list of the known affected devices:
LINKSYS DEVICES:
- E1200
- E2500
- WRVS4400N
MIKROTIK ROUTEROS VERSIONS FOR CLOUD CORE ROUTERS:
- 1016
- 1036
- 1072
NETGEAR DEVICES:
- DGN2200
- R6400
- R7000
- R8000
- WNR1000
- WNR2000
QNAP DEVICES:
- TS251
- TS439 Pro
- Other QNAP NAS devices running QTS software
TP-LINK DEVICES:
- R600VPN
Unfortunately, there is no easy way to tell if your device is infected. It is recommended that you contact your technology service provider to address this vulnerability.