Improve Router Hygiene to Protect Against Russian State-Sponsored Targeting

United States Federal and international partner agencies, released this Joint Cybersecurity Advisory to provide network defenders with vital tools and resources to combat the threat posed by Russian Government-sponsored activity targeting poorly configured and vulnerable devices across critical sectors.

Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Center 16 cyber actors continue to exploit poorly configured and vulnerable networking devices worldwide, opportunistically compromising multiple critical infrastructure sector networks. This Joint Cybersecurity Advisory builds on FBI’s Russian Government Cyber Actors Targeting Networking Devices, Critical Infrastructure Public Service Announcement of the decade plus FSB Center 16 cyber activity by providing additional tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) to enable defenders to more fully understand and counter the threat.

The authoring and co-sealing agencies strongly urge device owners and network defenders to take mitigation and remediation actions against Russian government-sponsored exploitation of vulnerable routers.