VPNFilter Attacks Home Routers

[booman]

Have you guys heard of this Router attack?
How does it work exactly?
How does it affect Linux user?

https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-...king-your-wifi-router-heres-how-to-stop-them/

1. Stage 1 involves a worm and adds it to the crontab, the list of tasks run at regular intervals by the cron scheduler on Linux. This allows it to remain on the device, to re-infect it with the subsequent stages if they are removed.
2. Stage 2 is the actual body of the malware, including the basic code that carries out all normal functions and executes any instructions requested by special, optional Stage 3 modules.
3. Stage 3 can be any of various "modules" that tell the malware to do specific things, like spying on industrial control devices (Modbus SCADA) or using secure "dark web" Tor software to communicate via encryption.[4]

 

[danrok]

There's more here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VPNFilter

They say resetting a router to factory defaults would wipe it, and that not using the default password for your router makes it less likely to become infected.

 

[booman]

So the router it-self is infected?
Like the embedded Linux OS in it?

 

[danrok]

Yes, seems many routers are running Linux.

It's possible to do some clever stuff like mesh networking.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commotion_Wireless

 

[booman]

That is brilliant and "not cool" at the same time.
Hacking an embedded Linux on a router and recording data passing through it.
I might reset mine just to be sure.

 

[cloasters]

Yes, I'll pull the plug on mine one more time.