PEAKHOUR SETUP ROUTER INSTALL
PEAKHOUR SETUP ROUTER SERIES

Since routers broadcast in all directions, you'll want to put it roughly in the middle of your home to get the best coverage and signal strength.Ī higher position - such as up on a shelf - is preferred, since radio waves move out and down as they propagate through your home. The ideal router position will be in a central location, rather than at one end of the home.

PEAKHOUR SETUP ROUTER INSTALL

Once it is unpacked and assembled, you'll need to find a place to install the router. In other cases, the router's antennas will be built in, and only need to be extended and positioned. This is usually done by screwing them on to the connectors on the back or sides of the router. If one node in the chain is compromised or taken down, the attacker can still maintain communication with the C2 by routing traffic through a different node in the chain.If antennas are separate from the main router unit, you'll want to install them. In addition, a chain of infected nodes makes it harder for defenders to disrupt the communication between the attacker and the C2. This makes it harder for defenders to detect and respond to the attack. Only a handful of nodes will know the identity of the final command and control.īy using multiple layers of nodes to tunnel communication, threat actors can obscure the origin and destination of the traffic, making it difficult for defenders to trace the traffic back to the C2. By doing so, the attackers can hide the final command and control, as every node in the chain has information only on the previous and next nodes, each node being an infected device. By doing so, the attackers can create a chain of nodes that will relay traffic to the command and control server. The implant can relay communication between two nodes. By creating a chain of infected devices that establish encrypted connections with only the closest two nodes (one in each direction), it’s difficult for anyone who stumbles upon one of them to learn the origin or ultimate destination or the true purpose of the infection. The SOCKS5 functionality seems to be the ultimate purpose of the implant.

The exchange of data between two devices using SOCKS5, a protocol for proxying TCP connections to an arbitrary IP address and providing a means for UDP packets to be forwarded.

File transfer for uploading and downloading files to and from the infected device.

A remote shell for executing commands on the infected device.

The three main functions of Horse Shell are: The chief component is a backdoor with the internal name Horse Shell.

PEAKHOUR SETUP ROUTER SERIES

The researchers discovered the implant while investigating a series of targeted attacks against European foreign affairs entities. “In other words, infecting a home router does not mean that the homeowner was specifically targeted, but rather that they are only a means to a goal.” Advertisement “Learning from history, router implants are often installed on arbitrary devices with no particular interest, with the aim to create a chain of nodes between the main infections and real command and control,” Check Point researchers wrote in a shorter write-up.

With further analysis, Check Point Research eventually discovered that the control infrastructure was operated by hackers tied to Mustang Panda, an advanced persistent threat actor that both the Avast and ESET security firms say works on behalf of the Chinese government. The main purpose of the malware appears to relay traffic between an infected target and the attackers’ command and control servers in a way that obscures the origins and destinations of the communication. The well-written C++ code, however, took pains to implement its functionality in a “firmware-agnostic” manner, meaning it would be trivial to modify it to run on other router models. The implant came in the form of firmware images for TP-Link routers. Researchers on Tuesday unveiled a major discovery-malicious firmware that can wrangle a wide range of residential and small office routers into a network that stealthily relays traffic to command-and-control servers maintained by Chinese state-sponsored hackers.Ī firmware implant, revealed in a write-up from Check Point Research, contains a full-featured backdoor that allows attackers to establish communications and file transfers with infected devices, remotely issue commands, and upload, download, and delete files.

Peakhour setup router