WFH – Are your employees old routers secure?

Around 7.5 million people could be working from home with old routers which are not secure 

While working from home (WFH) your employees home router is a key component when connecting to your office-based IT systems.  That makes it a potential security weak spot.

Routers keep us and our businesses connected to the internet and to each other.  They’re critical to WFH and hybrid working.

An investigation by ‘Which?’ has looked into how secure older routers really are.  There are two main areas of concern.  Firstly, some of the models haven’t received an update since 2016. That means that without firmware and security updates there’s no guarantee that security problems will be fixed.  Secondly, other issues such as common or weak default passwords could easily grant someone access.  In other words, your employees IT at home could be hacked, and therefore so could your own IT systems back at the office.

‘Which?’ concluded that the problem potentially affects around 7.5 million people with routers more than 5 years old.  They discovered issues with more than half of the most commonly tested older routers from the likes of Sky, Vodaphone, EE, Virgin and TalkTalk.

Whether your router is old or new, doing the following will help prevent performance and security issues:

Firstly, keep your router up to date

– Check your router regularly for firmware updates. This is done differently for every router and can be found on your ISP or manufacturer’s website.

Secondly, be mindful of your passwords

– Use different passwords for each of your devices.

– Update your passwords regularly, but especially on your router.  Never stick with the default password that your router comes with.

– Use complex passwords that aren’t easily guessed.

‘Which?’ have produced a Vulnerable Router List and advice so that home users can identify and replace affected routers.

Unfortunately routers are only one of the cybersecurity considerations when it comes to hybrid working. We’d encourage you to speak to us or your IT partner to ensure that all elements of home and hybrid working – including routers – are included in your cybersecurity strategy.

We’re happy to help with advice on all aspects of  your businesses IT and telecoms.  Call us on 03300 886116 or email info@pcsupportgroup.com