On Tuesday, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, warned that Russian state-linked hackers exploited weaknesses in TP-Link routers to infiltrate sensitive networks.
Russian-Linked Hackers Target Global Router Networks
The alert was issued alongside partners, including Germany’s foreign intelligence service, the Federal Intelligence Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Reuters reported.
The group behind the attacks, APT28 — also known as Fancy Bear — is widely attributed to Russia’s military intelligence agency, the General Staff’s Main Intelligence Directorate, the GRU.
Western governments have long accused the group of conducting cyber espionage operations.
TP-Link did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.
Thousands Of Devices Targeted, Critical Sectors At Risk
Authorities said several thousand routers were targeted globally, including about 30 in Germany.
In some cases, breaches were confirmed, prompting operators to replace affected devices, the report said.
The campaign focused on military, government and critical infrastructure networks.
Ongoing Cyber Threat To Germany
The BfV noted that APT28 has previously targeted Germany’s parliament, the SPD political party and air traffic control systems.
In 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense also issued an advisory warning that Russian cyber actors were using compromised routers to carry out cyber operations.
The advisory said that Russia’s GRU — specifically its 85th Main Special Service Center, also known as APT28 and Forest Blizzard — has used compromised EdgeRouters worldwide.
These attacks enabled hackers to steal credentials, collect NTLMv2 hashes, route network traffic and host spear-phishing pages and custom hacking tools.
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission announced that new foreign-made routers will be banned in the U.S. However, existing home internet setups remain unaffected, as the rules apply only to future devices, and vendors can still seek exemptions.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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