Cybercriminals launch attacks on home routers via Google Cloud Platform
Cybercriminals have taken advantage of Google’s cloud service to target several consumer routers to redirect DNS queries from legitimate sites to malicious ones.
According to security researcher Troy Mursch at Bad Packets, the attack is easy to carry out.
He said that anyone with a Google account can access a 'Google Cloud Shell' machine by simply visiting the Google Cloud console.
"This service provides users with the equivalent of a Linux VPS with root privileges directly in a web browser," he said. "Due to the ephemeral nature of these virtual machines coupled with Google’s slow response time to abuse reports, it’s difficult to prevent this kind of malicious behaviour."
There have been three waves of attacks since December last year. In all three waves, a reconnaissance scan was carried out using Masscan to check for active hosts on port 81/tcp prior to attempting the DNS hijacking exploits. The attacks targeted D-Link DSL-2640B, D-Link DSL-2740R, D-Link DSL-2780B and D-Link DSL-526B routers.
The hack intended to modify DNS settings in the routers to point to unauthorised webpages that scan user data.
The latest wave of attacks came from three distinct Google Cloud Platform hosts and targeted additional types of consumer routers not previously seen before including: ARG-W4 ADSL routers, DSLink 260E routers, Secutech routers, and TOTOLINK routers, according to Mursch.
"The rogue DNS servers used in this round, 195.128.126.165 and 195.128.124.131, are both hosted in Russia by Inoventica Services. Internet access is provided by their subsidiary Garant-Park-Internet Ltd (AS47196)," he added.
Mursch said that users should keep their home router firmware up-to-date.
"When security vulnerabilities are discovered, they are usually patched by the manufacturer to mitigate further attacks. It’s also advisable to review your router’s DNS settings to ensure they haven’t been tampered with," he added.
Mihai Vasilescu, security researcher at Ixia, told SC Media UK that for end users, simple precautions can mitigate many of the risks we face online.
"Making sure that our devices—in this case routers—are up-to-date and not exposing the admin interface online is important," he said.
"Also, be extra careful when accessing important websites, banking especially. Make sure that the connections are HTTPS, check the certificate. All of this is important to make sure that when you're entering your credentials, they don't get to someone else."
In a blog post, he added that hackers have also targeted Netflix, PayPal, Uber, Gmail, and others in phishing attacks.
Eoin Keary, CEO and co-founder of Edgescan, told SC Media UK that one of the prime factors to successful compromise is having the router Administration console exposed to the public Internet.
"Most routers can enable "Loopback only" so only local connections can connect to the router administration console. In addition, such attacks are a good reason to ensure default credentials and weak passwords are not used on consumer routers. In fairness, many router vendors now provide the hardware with complex credentials and secure defaults, but older routers are significantly more vulnerable and have few if no security controls enabled by default," he said.
source scmagazineuk
Industry: Cyber Security News
Latest Jobs
-
- Threat and Vulnerability Analyst / Penetration Tester. London
- London
- 55000
-
Threat and Vulnerability Analyst / Penetration tester needed. Threat and Vulnerability Analyst needed. Immediate opportunity. Must be able to commute to London min 2 days a week. The individual will join a highly technical team that is responsible for identifying vulnerabilities and threat in various applications / coding with a view of driving remediation and change. This is a critical role. The ability to achieve SC clearance is a must. A deeply technical Linux Redhat background with, penetration testing / code review / threat detection background is essential. Looking to hire immediately. Apply today for more information.
-
- Security Auditor / 3rd Party Assurance. London. End user
- London
- 60000
-
Security Auditor / 3rd Party Assurance. London. End user The Security Auditor / 3rd Party Assurance role has two key functions. Manage the ongoing assessment of new and existing 3rd party suppliers to ensure they meet the internal policies / controls. (Reassessment etc) Internal Auditing across business to ensure various departemnt / operations are compliant and inline with internal ISMS etc. ISO 27001 internal audit experience, creation of audit reports experinece essential. This is an internal business so broad experience across a multiple technology environment (cloud and on prem) is highly desirable. MUST be able to engage and work with senior stakeholders in an often faced pace environment. ISO27001, NIST, CISSP, CISA Risk assessment experinece needed This is a permanent role.. Blend of technical and consultative approach needed. This role will require someone to travel to London a few days a week once lock down permits and their offices fully reopen. All details kept in confidence. Apply today to find out more.
-
- Security Auditor / 3rd Party Assurance. London. End user
- London
- 60000
-
Security Auditor / 3rd Party Assurance. London. End user The Security Auditor / 3rd Party Assurance role has two key functions. Manage the ongoing assessment of new and existing 3rd party suppliers to ensure they meet the internal policies / controls. (Reassessment etc) Internal Auditing across business to ensure various departemnt / operations are compliant and inline with internal ISMS etc. ISO 27001 internal audit experience, creation of audit reports experinece essential. This is an internal business so broad experience across a multiple technology environment (cloud and on prem) is highly desirable. MUST be able to engage and work with senior stakeholders in an often faced pace environment. ISO27001, NIST, CISSP, CISA Risk assessment experinece needed This is a permanent role.. Blend of technical and consultative approach needed. This role will require someone to travel to London a few days a week once lock down permits and their offices fully reopen. All details kept in confidence. Apply today to find out more.
-
- Head of Penetration Testing, UK based, Flexible location.
- United Kingdom
- Upto £100,000 plus excellent benefits
-
Head of Penetration Testing needed to join a security consultancy that are delivering client facing penetration testing services around Web app and Infrastructure. Looking for someone hands on that is able to manage a highly skilled technical team of testers. 50-60% of the time is expected to be hands on, other duties will include, but not be limited to; leading and managing the day to day running of the team, mentoring, team upskill, recruitment, reporting, escalation, process improvement etc. Flexible location although south east is preferred. Anyone with Check / CREST experience is highly desirable. MUST be able to achieve SC clearance. UK based role. All details kept in confidence.