1
NETWORK SECURITY
There are plenty of steps you can take around your home
network to reduce the likelihood of anyone making ingress
from outside. The first is changing the name of your SSID
to something that doesn’t identify the manufacturer of your
router. Remember that your chosen name will be broadcast into
neighbors’ houses, so hilarious names such as ‘FBI Surveillance
Van’ or ‘Number 42 We Hate Your Music’ should definitely not be
on the list if you value your neighborhood relationships. Try not
to put any identifying information in the name, so not ‘This Is The
Goldbergs’ Netgear Router’ [Image A].
>> If you can live with a hidden SSID, then all the better, as
your wireless network won’t be nearly so obvious to someone
with a laptop full of intrusion tools and a nose for mischief.
Not everybody is prepared to live with the inconvenience,
however, so the next thing to check is that you’re using the best
encryption protocol your router can manage. New devices must
support WPA 3 to get their Wi-Fi certification, but WPA2, with
its mandatory AES encryption, is still a valid option. If you’re
using WPA, or even WEP, and are concerned about security, then
getting a new router should be moved to the top of your to-do list.
Likewise, if you have an older device that can’t access a WPA2
network, it’s better to upgrade it than to compromise security.
THERE’SA STORY THAT GOES around cybersecurity events about a casino, somewhere in North
America. It had a fish tank, and in that watery fish home was a thermometer. For reasons best
known to the casino management, the thermometer was an IoT (internet of things) device
and reported the tank’s temperature via Wi-Fi. However, it wasn’t particularly secure, and so
hackers used it to gain a foothold in the gambling establishment’s network, eventually escaping
with a database containing the details of high-rolling customers. We hope the aquarium housed
a marine environment, as it would make comparing the heist to the Oceans 11 movies easier.
That might sound pretty amusing when it happens to wealthy people with more money than
sense, but a general lack of security in IoT devices is far less funny when it allows hackers to
cuss at you through an insecure IP camera, as happened to one Dutch woman recently.
The fact is that many IoT devices are insecure from the moment you install them on your
home network and allow them unfettered access to both it and the wider internet. Basic
security issues, such as generic admin passwords and having remote access enabled by
default, are relatively easy to fix, but there are also things you can do on your router to help
increase security, and prevent yourself from being ‘fishtanked’. – IAN EVENDEN
YOU’LL NEED THIS
PC, ROUTER(S),
HOME NETWORK, IOT
DEVICE(S)
Internet connection
Wi-Fi
2
SEPARATE YOUR BANDS
Most IoT devices connect at 2 .4GHz, so you can
move devices to the 5 GHz band, if your router
supports it, with no security implications. The 2 .4GHz
network has a better range but lower speed so can
potentially pick up security cameras and Wi-Fi lights
further away without needing a booster. This leaves the
faster 5GHz network uncluttered for your phone, tablet,
and PC. You get a faster and more stable connection
through the Ethernet, so fixed devices, such as smart
TVs, desktop PCs, NAS boxes, and media servers, can
be wired in to take pressure off your Wi-Fi bands.
3
GUEST NETWORK
Many routers support an additional virtual ‘guest’
network that is cut off from the primary one you
use. It’s not meant as a security measure, but something
you can switch on when family comes to visit to save
giving them your password, or if you’re running a shop
and want to offer customers internet access. However,
because of its isolation from the rest of the network, it
does have security benefits—as long as that isolation is
turned on. For some routers, it’s on by default, on others
you need to check a box. Some go further and isolate
devices on the guest network from each other.
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62 MAXIMUMPC HOL 2021
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