Millions in the UK could be using insecure routers according to an investigation carried out by Which?
A survey of more than 6,000 adults conducted in December 2020 found that millions of households could be using devices which are more than five years old and are no longer being supported with firmware updates.
Among the security flaws discovered were weak default passwords which are easy to guess by hackers, as well as local network vulnerabilities which would allow hackers to direct users to malicious websites.
Which? claims it sent some of the most used older devices to security specialists Red Maple Technologies, who discovered problems with more than half of them which included ISPs such as Virgin, Sky, TalkTalk, EE and Vodafone.
This could potentially affect up to 7.5 million British, Which? claims, with some routers not being updated since 2016.
“We think it’s unacceptable that customers are being left on old, unsupported kit – our research suggests that up to 2.4 million UK adults haven’t had a new router in the past five years”, Which? said.
“ISPs should be far more upfront about how long routers will be receiving firmware and security updates, and they should actively upgrade customers who are at risk.We went to the ISPs with our findings and most told us they would monitor devices for security threats, updating them if needed. However, there’s no guarantee.”
