Worrying news has revealed that hundreds of thousands of home routers have been take over by hackers.
The total number of routers over the planet which are said to have been attacked runs to over 300,000. This issue has come about become of a loophole in their core software which the hackers have taken advantage of.
The huge network of hacker routers was discovered by the security researchers who work as part of Team Cymru. The devices which have been affected are said to be based both in homes and in small businesses all over the world.
What Will the Hackers Do Now?
It is thought to be the biggest such attack in history but it isn’t yet known what the hackers intend to do with this array of hacked routers.
The routers which are part of this network are from different manufacturers and the researchers at Team Cymru first came across them at the start of this year, in Eastern Europe. The attacks then spread, with Vietnam becoming the main focus. Now, the attacked routers are said to be mainly in Europe, with a few other countries in other parts of the world also affected.
The compromised routers have been altered so that they no longer check the owner’s ISP for details of the websites they usually visit. This means that the hackers can send the users to any site they want. At the moment, people with affected routers are being sent to a couple of IP addresses belonging to a London based hosting firm.
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