US Officials Warn Russian State Hackers Are Targeting Home Routers

CISA urges vigilance as compromised routers become a hot commodity for disguising hacking activity

The U.S. government is warning that Russian state-sponsored hackers are targeting consumer routers as part of an effort to build networks of "residential proxies," according to Ars Technica.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is urging router owners to remain vigilant, the outlet reported.

Residential proxies — networks built from compromised home devices — have become highly sought after by hackers because traffic routed through them can be harder to trace back to its source than traffic sent through other kinds of hacking infrastructure.

That demand has made ordinary home routers an attractive target for state-linked hacking groups looking to disguise their activity, according to the report.

— Compiled from reporting by Ars Technica.