Symantec warns of router compromise

Security company Symantec has warned of an attack involving the subversion of routers.

The security company said this was the first time it had seen such an attack "in the wild", although the concept had been discussed a year ago by Symantec researchers, according to a Symantec blog post.

In the attack, which targeted users of an undisclosed Mexican bank, the intended victims received a spam email claiming they had received an e-card, directing them to gusanto.com, a Spanish language e-card site. However, the email also had embedded HTML image tags, which contained an HTTP get-request to the router to change its DNS settings, according to Symantec's UK manager of quality assurance, Thomas Parsons.

The HTTP get-request redirects traffic flowing over the router to a specific IP address when the user attempts to access six domain names that are banking-related. Symantec requested that ZDNet.co.uk did not publish the IP address.

The attack is made possible by a cross-site scripting vulnerability in 2Wire routers that was reported in August last year, according to Symantec. Parsons said this was "a simple hack", and advised small to medium-sized businesses to change default security settings on routers, and educate users about clicking on suspicious links.