securitybreach Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 Quote Bernard Meyer, reporting for CyberNews:In a collaboration between CyberNews Sr. Information Security Researcher Mantas Sasnauskas and researchers James Clee and Roni Carta, suspicious backdoors have been discovered in a Chinese-made Jetstream router, sold exclusively at Walmart as their new line of "affordable" wifi routers. This backdoor would allow an attacker the ability to remotely control not only the routers, but also any devices connected to that network. CyberNews reached out to Walmart for comment and to understand whether they were aware of the Jetstream backdoor, and what they plan to do to protect their customers. After we sent information about the affected Jetstream device, a Walmart spokesperson informed CyberNews: "Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We are looking into the issue to learn more. The item in question is currently out of stock and we do not have plans to replenish it." Besides the Walmart-exclusive Jetstream router, the cybersecurity research team also discovered that low-cost Wavlink routers, normally sold on Amazon or eBay, have similar backdoors. The Wavlink routers also contain a script that lists nearby wifi and has the capability to connect to those networks. We have also found evidence that these backdoors are being actively exploited, and there's been an attempt to add the devices to a Mirai botnet. Mirai is malware that infects devices connected to a network, turns them into remotely controlled bots as part of a botnet, and uses them in large-scale attacks. The most famous of these is the 2016 Dyn DNS cyberattack, which brought down major websites like Reddit, Netflix, CNN, GitHub, Twitter, Airbnb and more. https://tech.slashdot.org/story/20/11/23/1926237/walmart-exclusive-router-and-others-sold-on-amazon-and-ebay-contain-hidden-backdoors-to-control-devices 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 Pretty hard to get any network gear that isn't made in China these days. Maybe some stuff is designed in North America. 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted November 24, 2020 Author Share Posted November 24, 2020 Very true I just make sure to get name brand things from established companies. BTW our government spies as well 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 28 minutes ago, securitybreach said: BTW our government spies as well That it does... along with #Big_Tech sucking data to enrich themselves and their customers. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 I used D-Link (Taiwan) for years then my ISP's gateway - Hitron (Taiwan). Now I have Linksys (US) bought by Cisco (US) then by Belkin (US) then by Foxconn (Taiwan.) Does this mean anything? Probably not. In addition I have had Motorola modems (US) now owned by Arris (US.) My ISP has an Internet TV offering that also uses Arris modems. It's all too much for my little mind to comprehend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted November 24, 2020 Author Share Posted November 24, 2020 Yeah, everything is manufactured in China Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 I read today that some companies like Foxconn, Pegatron and Compal are planning to move production (mostly Apple stuff) out of China. So things might be changing a bit. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 Yes... https://www.reuters.com/article/us-foxconn-vietnam-apple-exclusive/exclusive-foxconn-to-shift-some-apple-production-to-vietnam-to-minimise-china-risk-idUSKBN2860VN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 On 11/24/2020 at 12:05 PM, securitybreach said: Yeah, everything is manufactured in China Or, BY Chinese owned companies somewhere in the Far East. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted November 26, 2020 Author Share Posted November 26, 2020 Right... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 why was Walmart singled out ? btw: 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 My router had a firmware update available dated 1029. makes me think that they knew about things before publication. Oddly, the firmware was applied without the router losing it's functionality. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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