Posted on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Researchers scanning the internet for vulnerable embedded devices have found nearly 21,000 routers, webcams and VoIP products open to remote attack. Their administrative interfaces are viewable from anywhere on the internet and their owners have failed to change the manufacturer’s default password. Linksys routers had the highest percent of vulnerable devices found in the United States – 45 percent of 2,729 routers that were publicly accessible still had a default password in place. Polycom VoIP units came in second, with default passwords lingering on about 29 percent of 585 devices accessible over the internet. “You can reflash the firmware or install any software you wish on vulnerable devices,” said Salvatore Stolfo, a Columbia University computer science professor who is overseeing the research project aimed at uncovering vulnerable appliances on the internet. “These devices will be owned and used by bot herders and other miscreants.”
