D-Link Router Security Flaws: A security researcher from the Silesian University of Technology released a vulnerability report on D-Link routers. This isn’t the first time the public heard of serious D-Link router security flaws from a reference other than the corporation itself. Read on to uncover the full story of these vulnerabilities.
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D-Link Router Security Flaws Here to Stay
Security expert Blazej Adamczyk of the Silesian University of Technology released a list of 3 critical vulnerabilities in 8 D-Link routers last Friday.
Presumably, Adamcyzk contacted D-Link with his findings in May. He waited until September to give the router company an ultimatum: either tell the public about these vulnerabilities, or he will.
Being true to his word; he revealed the vulnerabilities and a proof-of-concept video showing how these vulnerabilities work together.
According to Adamcyzk, D-Link did reply two weeks after he first contacted the company. D-Link told Adamcyzk that it would update 2 of the eight routers he reported. 6 of the eight routers, however, are “End of Life” routers. This means that they won’t be receiving any updates.
Moreover, EOL routers are older router models that are no longer part of the router company’s active portfolio. While the routers in questions are “old,” they’re still relatively new enough to still be used by many of D-Link’s customers.
Here are the eight routers in questions:
- DWR-116
- DWR-140L
- DWR-512
- DWR-640L (Release year: 2012)
- DWR-712
- DWR-912
- DWR-921
- DWR-111 (Release year: 2014)
Presently, while 2012 might seem like ages ago in the router-making industry, average users may still be using these models. These users should not expect a security update any time soon. Or at all.
D-Links And the Repeat Offence
Last year (2017), almost the same situation was brought to D-Link’s attention…and it got the same response.
Security researcher Pierre Kim reported ten security vulnerabilities in the D-Link DIR-850L AC1200. Same as with the situation this year, the router was EOL and D-Link did not release any security updates to fix the vulnerabilities.
Corporations aren’t legally forced to fix vulnerabilities after they suspend the products. However, the average consumer doesn’t really know when routers reach their EOL. Routers don’t come with a “use-by” date on their boxes, and most people won’t change their routers every 2 or 3 years.
Tips And Tricks to Counter-Act D-Link Router Security Flaws
However, D-Link won’t fix these security flaws in 6 out of the eight affected routers, but you can still salvage your router at home.
Certainly, there are a couple of things you can do with your router to tighten up these security flaws.
Firstly, you can change the firmware of the router completely. Firmware is a router’s operating system, and believe it or not; this is something you can effectively change. There is 2 open-source firmware you can install on your router to give it that extra boost and fix the software vulnerabilities it has. All you have to do is flash your router with DD-WRT or Tomato.
Read more: Best VPN for D-Link Routers
Conclusion -D-Link Router Security Flaws
Once you flash your router, you can install a VPN onto it to both boost your system and add a layer of security to your internet connection. VPNs are cyber-security tools that encrypt your data and re-route all of your traffic through their own secure servers. Do let us know your take on this.
