Cabinet Division issues cybersecurity advisory for Wi-Fi safety

ISLAMABAD: The Cabinet Division has issued a cyber security advisory for the safe use of Wi-Fi.

According to the advisory, Wi-Fi connections have become an indispensable part of the ICT infrastructure. Being a common component in any organization/home network, the security of Wi-Fi routers is critical in the context of prevailing cyber security threats.

Due to the unprecedented increase in key known vulnerabilities, default security configurations and lack of user awareness, malicious actors can continuously access the network/endpoints, install malware and steal sensitive/private data. In this regard, the advisory highlights the security risks of Wi-Fi connections along with prevention guidelines.

The advisory notes that Wi-Fi routers are considered one of the least secure devices, as they focus on functionality rather than security. According to the latest research, nearly a third of critical vulnerabilities discovered in Wi-Fi routers have neither been fixed nor addressed by vendors.

Furthermore, a lack of expertise in securing/hardening Wi-Fi routers further worsens an organization’s security posture.

The advisory highlights several common vulnerabilities and guidelines for hardening Wi-Fi routers.