Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Plenty of (IN)Secure Broadband Routers

SShh.....The Problem of Default Passwords for the Wireless Routers still exists in most parts of the country. The Mumbai terror attacks did bring in a concern for people using Wireless Networks and not have secured them. However, time and again I have been still snooping into the so-called 'Secured' Wireless Networks because the routers admin password is still set to default. Crazy !!




BSNL, the most widespread broadband provider, supplies its own ADSL Router which is been configured by the BSNL line-man. Since most of the broadband customers are not so tech-savy, they understand very little about the technical configuration done in the Wireless Routers.

YOU and I know that default configuration of the broadband router is insecure. We may be good guys, may be the bad guys too. The default login to the router's admin console via username: admin and password admin is very silly to get into the broadband connection. The encryption security or the password key provided has not much of security to be provided now.

3 things that I see from this point:
a) Can the end-users be educated about the 'french-latin' of router security?
I assume Success Rate as very low
b) Can the Internet Service Provider person configure a 'lockdown' version of Secure Routers?
I assume Success Rate as low to moderate
c) Can the router device manufacturers start providing warning messages if their devices are running on default passwords?
I assume Success Rate as moderate

Any comments are welcome !!

Mumbai to Host India’s First e-Crime Forum













On the 23rd and 24th February, a leading cyber crime security event, e-Crime India, will be staged in Mumbai for the first time. With the support of OWASP India, Data Security CounciI of India (DSCI) and The Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE), the forum will be hosted at Hotel Novotel, Juhu Beach, Mumbai.

India’s foremost cyber crime experts and IT security professionals will convene to address the key challenges faced by the people whose job it is to tackle e-crime in India and issues connected with electronic risk. Internationally renowned Cyberlaw expert, Mr. Paven Duggal, will deliver a special address to the forum. Chief information security officers from leading banks, including Bank of India, ICICI, State Bank of India, Standard Chartered and HSBC, and global corporations such as Vodafone, Walt Disney, and Reliance Life, will join him on the podium. The forum will also hear presentations from leading academics and high-ranking law enforcement officials, including the senior inspector of police at Mumbai’s cyber police station.
Over 250 senior decision makers from business, government, and law enforcement are expected to attend the event, which is being sponsored by organisations including HDFC Bank and Websense.

As one of the most rapidly developing countries in the world, India has seen an enormous increase in internet users in recent years and accordingly e-crime in India has grown at an increasingly alarming rate, costing the Indian economy an estimated $50 billion annually.
e-Crime India is a major initiative and is the newest member of the e-Crime Congress family of events following e-Crime Middle East, which was hosted in Abu Dhabi, December 2009. The e-Crime Congress, hosted annually in London attracting over 550 professionals from over 40 countries, recognises the need for international cooperation. Peter Brady, Business Development Manager of AKJ Associates, who organise the forum, says: ‘we are very happy to be coming to India, because cyber crime is a truly worldwide problem that is of concern to everyone. The e-Crime Congress has established a global reputation over the past eight years for its cutting edge agendas that deliver key information on the latest e-crime threats and practical guidance for overcoming them. We take pride in bringing together the right people to share information and combat cyber crime around the world collectively.’ Manoj Saha, Managing Editor of Dickenson Intellinetics, who are partnering AKJ Associates for e-Crime India, added: ‘as an organisation deeply involved with events related to financial markets, private equity and investment banking, e-crime India is a natural value adder to professionals in the Indian banking, corporate and financial markets - we are delighted to partner with AKJ Associates in making e-crime India the destination event that no security professional should miss.”

Click Here For Complete Details of Event: http://www.e-crimecongress.org/india/