Thousands of hacked Asus routers are under control of suspected China-state hackers
So far, the hackers are laying low, likely for later use.
https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/11/thousands-of-hacked-asus-routers-are-under-control-of-suspected-china-state-hackers/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social
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@arstechnica That's nothing new.
1️⃣ People buy antivirus software and install updates on their laptops, but never care about the router device, the gateway to the internet which is silently online 24/7
2️⃣ Manufacturers only provide one or two updates fixing some user facing features and done. No further security fixes.
That's why I am glad for #Turris. An open router running Linux, the OS I understand and that I use on all my PCs, laptops and servers (and soon phone I hope). With long software support. The first Turris I got is from 2015 and it still gets updates to the newest OpenWRT. ❤️
@arstechnica *Sits on an ASUS router, but flashed with #FreshTomato*
@arstechnica is it just me or every time I see "xyz" state hackers, first thing that comes to mind is this is definitely a CIA/NSA/MI6 or MOSAD operation that got comprised and now looking for a fall guy...
@arstechnica
@briankrebs
Maybe I'm slow, but I have several issues with the article.
1) These routers do not appear to be EOL. All are AC or AX. The ones I checked are still on Asus website.
2) It's not clear what software these routers were running. Stock Asus? WRT Merlin? If so what versions?
3) Does the vulnerability only apply to internet facing routers? i.e. what if they are used as wifi APs only? What if they are behind a firewall.
@arstechnica how deep is it? If I have an ASUS router with an aftermarket OS am I screwed?
So get rid of the stuff…
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@arstechnica
“The hacking spree is either primarily or exclusively targeting seven models of Asus routers, all of which are no longer supported by the manufacturer, meaning they no longer receive security patches, researchers from SecurityScorecard said.”
That’s why I use open-source, actively supported, router OSes: OPNsense and OpenWRT
@arstechnica Seriously, I just replaced my old Asus router with a new Asus router 20 minutes ago.🙄
@arstechnica OMG Devious hackers from China! Maybe Russians! Maybe sino-russians!! Or worse: CHINA STATE hackers. Allegedly.