Massive global implications for Cisco router vulnerability.
A vulnerability in Cisco routers has massive global implications.
To compromise the routers, researchers from
the security firm Red Balloon exploited two vulnerabilities. The first
is a bug in Cisco’s IOS operating system—not to be confused with Apple’s
iOS—which would allow a hacker to remotely
obtain root access to the devices…The second vulnerability, though, is
much more sinister. Once the researchers gain root access, they can
bypass the router’s most fundamental security protection. Known as the
Trust Anchor, this Cisco security feature has
been implemented in almost all of the company’s enterprise devices
since 2013…In practice, this means an attacker could use these
techniques to fully compromise the networks these devices are on. Given
Cisco’s ubiquity, the potential fallout would be enormous.
Source: WIRED
Gloss