Network Security Tip of the Week [19]

This week’s network security tip seems obvious, but is more common than any of us would like to admit. Yup, we’re talking about default passwords. From a security perspective, one of the first things you should do when deploying a device in the network (whether a wifi router a home or an enterprise firewall or router), is change the default password. The importance of changing default passwords is noted throughout many of the SANS Top 20 Critical Controls and is low-hanging fruit to minimize unnecessary exposure from attacks.

AlgoSec’s James Dowell offers the following tip…

“Always change default passwords – even at home. There’s been a spate of recent attacks on home routers often involving no change of password. And it’s something we can check on enterprise firewalls via risk check or baseline compliance.”

Thanks James! Here is a short video on AlgoSec’s baseline configuration compliance report that shows how organizations can automatically identify default passwords in network devices such as firewalls and routers.