Information security analysts monitoring the situation ahead of the midterm elections in the United States have determined that hackers working on behalf of the Kremlin intend to continue interfering with the American democratic process, and one of their proven strategies involves taking advantage of unsecured home networks.
For the most part, cyber attacks perpetrated by Russian hackers against residential wireless networks do not necessarily target members of households; the primary goal is to use the network and IP addresses for the purpose of conducting political attacks. State elections systems already block IP address ranges originating from Russia and other regions are known to be adversaries of the U.S., but they cannot block local IPs because voters need to register and obtain information about upcoming elections.
[su_note note_color=”#F4f4f4″]Armed with local internet connections, hackers can obtain voter registration data, inject malware or carry out distributed denial of service attacks in an effort to derail elections. The trophy attack for these political hackers would be to infiltrate a network that is connected to electronic voting machines.[/su_note]
Precautions for Computer Users in the High Desert
What residents of the High Desert should keep in mind that political hackers can also carry out traditional cybercrime activity such as stealing username and password data as well as personal information for identity theft purposes. The Kremlin has been known to strike partnerships with cybercrime groups and allow them to conduct malicious hacking along with political activity; this is done to sow confusion and obfuscation.
[su_note note_color=”#F4f4f4″]Many hackers find it too easy to infiltrate home networks because they are poorly secured. If your wireless router was installed on a plug-and-play basis years ago and without changing the default password, the chances are that your home network is at risk, but there are other situations that may apply even if your Wi-Fi network was recently installed and the router password was changed. Now that smart home automation devices are becoming popular, homeowners are connecting them to their wireless networks without paying attention to potential security issues.[/su_note]
Secure Home Networks and All Devices
Any device that connects to your home Wi-Fi network can become a dangerous endpoint for hackers to exploit. One of the problems with smart home devices such as IP cameras, light bulbs, refrigerators, home theater systems, and even video game consoles is that many manufacturers fail to remind consumers about security measures that should be taken during the installation process.
[su_note note_color=”#F4f4f4″]If you have questions about home network security or would like to audit your smart home automation devices, feel free to contact our security specialists. Keep in mind that it is never too late to make your home network safer.[/su_note]
