3 ms·

I think it's time for windows, and ios, and firewall / antivirus companies to scan for info about the routers used and alert people that their network is easily

I think it's time for windows, and ios, and firewall / antivirus companies to scan for info about the routers used and alert people that their network is easily hacked, may already be hacked, and is in danger of being used by criminals to attack other countries and companies. Extra info such as, the router you are using has not had any available firmware updates for 3 years and likely needs to be replaced. It's obvious we are not going to get this info to most people from the IOT manufacturers. This could be quite beneficial for those who hook up thier phones to different wifi networks as well - a pop up showing that their router / internet gateway model has been shown to be used in at least 100,000 other malware exploits, and should not be trusted like your cell connection - It's time to start shaming and naming - the bad guys already know how to get this info, we need to make it easier for the end users to become aware. A service that will email you when firmware is available for your equipment, or your equipment is listed on shodan, blackhathacksrus, or other places may be beneficial as well. Set it up to take serial numbers scanned with an app, and give notices on recalls and physical theft recovery. We obviously need something, and possibly many things tp help with this. I can't believe a certain router company a few years ago did not offer to send a rebate if I returned their no-longer-updated-hardware when I emailed them inquiring about a published exploit and lack of updates. I no longer use that brand or suggest it. They could of kept a customer and made things better, they did neither.

achillean 8y ago
We actually offer such a monitoring service at Shodan, though it's largely aimed at companies so you need to use the API. Here's an article on how to setup a real-time monitor for your network: https://help.shodan.io/guides/how-to-monitor-network https://help.shodan.io/guides/how-to-monitor-network
- chopin 8y ago
  How would this work for a consumer network which doesn't have a fixed public IP?
  - achillean 8y ago
    In that case you're probably better off w/ a cronjob that checks Shodan for information on your IP once a day. Doing direct IP lookups is free so you wouldn't need to pay. You won't get the immediate, real-time feedback but it's fairly straight-forward to do a daily IP lookup. You could also change/ update your private firehose every day though that would require a bit more technical skill. You could basically do: MYIP=`shodan myip` shodan alert create home-network $MYIP shodan stream --alerts=all That would create an alert for your current IP and then subscribe to any events.
heavenlyblue 8y ago
What about building an ethical hacking company that hacks these routers, closes the holes and then shows a warning to the user? This would quickly bypass any resources hackers have anyway, and could work closely with the governments IFF the hacking is purely ethical. The amount of inefficiency due to these devices being freely available to the user should be a huge money-saver.
- stevenicr 8y ago
  There have been times I wondered if such a group was formed, or only working from a spot in international waters or, what would be some country names that would avoid any kind of legal or treaty or anything. What would those places be that could have such a hive running without major recourse?

achillean 8y ago

We actually offer such a monitoring service at Shodan, though it's largely aimed at companies so you need to use the API. Here's an article on how to setup a real-time monitor for your network: https://help.shodan.io/guides/how-to-monitor-network https://help.shodan.io/guides/how-to-monitor-network

chopin 8y ago
How would this work for a consumer network which doesn't have a fixed public IP?
- achillean 8y ago
  In that case you're probably better off w/ a cronjob that checks Shodan for information on your IP once a day. Doing direct IP lookups is free so you wouldn't need to pay. You won't get the immediate, real-time feedback but it's fairly straight-forward to do a daily IP lookup. You could also change/ update your private firehose every day though that would require a bit more technical skill. You could basically do: MYIP=`shodan myip` shodan alert create home-network $MYIP shodan stream --alerts=all That would create an alert for your current IP and then subscribe to any events.

heavenlyblue 8y ago

What about building an ethical hacking company that hacks these routers, closes the holes and then shows a warning to the user? This would quickly bypass any resources hackers have anyway, and could work closely with the governments IFF the hacking is purely ethical. The amount of inefficiency due to these devices being freely available to the user should be a huge money-saver.

stevenicr 8y ago
There have been times I wondered if such a group was formed, or only working from a spot in international waters or, what would be some country names that would avoid any kind of legal or treaty or anything. What would those places be that could have such a hive running without major recourse?