How can you ensure your home network is secure from cyber threats?

A few years ago NIST revised their guidance about what constitutes a strong password. They no longer recommend complex combinations of symbols, numbers, and letters in upper and lower case. It turns out that length is just about everything. See Appendix A in NIST SP 800-63B. Just put together three or four words and a few digits and you'll be safe. My old WiFi router came with a default password of 'largelightening448' and that's quite sufficient. NB Please do not use that one, okay?

To secure your home network from cyber threats, start by using a strong, unique password for your Wi-Fi network and enabling WPA3 encryption. Regularly update your router’s firmware to protect against vulnerabilities. Implement a robust firewall and enable network encryption. Use reputable antivirus and anti-malware software on all connected devices. Disable remote management features on your router and limit the number of devices that can connect to your network. Lastly, segment your network by creating a guest network for visitors and IoT devices, reducing the risk of these devices compromising your main network.

To enhance the security of your home network, it is essential to implement a series of best practices. Firstly, ensure that your Wi-Fi network is safeguarded by a strong and unique password consisting of at least 12 characters with a combination of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols. It is advisable to steer clear of common words, personal information, or easily guessable passwords and to periodically change the password, particularly if there are concerns about its security.

Change default passwords for your router, modem, and any connected devices. Use strong, unique passwords for each device. Regularly update the firmware of your router and connected devices to patch security vulnerabilities. Enable the firewall on your router to monitor and control incoming and outgoing network traffic. Create separate networks for different devices (e.g., IoT devices, guest network) to isolate potential security breaches. Keep all connected devices, including computers, smartphones, and IoT devices, updated with the latest security patches. Enable 2FA on your router, if supported, and on any online accounts associated with your network.

1.Changing the default password:Make sure to change the default password on your router to something strong and unique. Avoid using common passwords like password or 123456. 2.Update your router's firmware:Updating it regularly helps in ensuring that you have the latest security patches and bug fixes. This will help protect against known vulnerabilities. 3.Enable network encryption:Use WPA2 or WPA3 encryption on your Wi-Fi network to prevent unauthorized access. 4.Enable firewall:Routers have built-in firewalls, make sure it’s enabled to provide an extra layer of protection against incoming threats. 5.Use a VPN:Using a VPN when accessing the internet from your home network, it encrypts your internet traffic and helps protect your privacy.

Whatever password you choose, change the default passwords, not only on your router but on all the IoT devices that you connect to your network too.

Para garantir que sua rede doméstica esteja protegida contra ameaças cibernéticas, é fundamental manter todos os dispositivos, especialmente os roteadores, com o firmware atualizado. O firmware atua como o sistema operacional do roteador, controlando suas funcionalidades e segurança. Fabricantes lançam atualizações de firmware para corrigir vulnerabilidades recém-descobertas e melhorar a segurança. Portanto, verificar regularmente se há atualizações disponíveis e aplicá-las prontamente é uma prática crucial. Além disso, habilitar a atualização automática de firmware, quando possível, pode simplificar esse processo e garantir que sua rede se mantenha protegida contra as ameaças mais recentes sem exigir intervenção manual constante.

Before performing a firmware update, it is recommended to understand why the manufacturer has published a new version and understand what impacts it could have post-installation. However, it is strongly recommended to update to the latest version available, especially with a view to fixing vulnerabilities discovered over time as well as improving performance. The update should be downloaded only from the manufacturer's official website so as to mitigate the risk of installing a version compromised by an attacker who could install a backdoor.

Manter o firmware do roteador atualizado é essencial para a segurança da rede doméstica. O firmware controla as funções do roteador, e fabricantes lançam atualizações para corrigir vulnerabilidades e melhorar a funcionalidade. Verifique e instale atualizações regularmente para evitar exposições a explorações conhecidas por cibercriminosos.

FIRMWARE updates are important & are more delicate in nature as mistakes made could cause the device BIOS to the flashed in a manner where it becomes damaged. Thus, it's important to "read the manual" & understand exactly what must be done & exact procedures so that mistakes won't be made during updates. A firmware update changes the "operating system" of an external peripheral device outside the computer itself -- so it's different than our routine Patch Tuesday updates. Thankfully U-TUBE videos are often present for popular hardware like routines or IOT devices. It's important to allow be patient & allow FIRMWARE to be fully installed (following warning not to power off computer/device). It's good to reboot, test & lock in changes

Para garantir que sua rede doméstica esteja protegida contra ameaças cibernéticas, a criptografia de rede é essencial. Usar protocolos de criptografia robustos, como WPA3, assegura que os dados transmitidos entre seus dispositivos e o roteador estejam codificados, dificultando o acesso não autorizado. WPA3 oferece melhorias significativas em relação ao WPA2, incluindo maior proteção contra ataques de força bruta e a implementação de Forward Secrecy, que protege dados antigos mesmo se a senha da rede for comprometida. Configurar o roteador para usar WPA3 e evitar protocolos obsoletos, como WEP, é crucial.

Criptografar sua rede Wi-Fi é como colocar um selo em suas cartas pessoais, garantindo que apenas os destinatários pretendidos possam ler o conteúdo. Padrões de criptografia como WPA2 ou WPA3 embaralham as informações enviadas pela rede, dificultando a interceptação por terceiros. Para habilitar a criptografia, acesse as configurações do roteador e selecione o padrão mais forte disponível. Isso protegerá seus dados contra ciberespiões.

Even for home networks it is recommended to have separate VLANs, so as to allow guests to use a completely separate network from that for residents. On this network it is recommended to apply restrictions not only in terms of performance but also of visibility on the Internet perimeter (for example file sharing)

Gerenciar o acesso à rede doméstica é crucial para a segurança. Configure uma rede de convidados para visitantes, mantendo a rede principal privada. Desative o WPS para evitar riscos de segurança e monitore regularmente os dispositivos conectados para identificar qualquer acesso não autorizado.

For me, guest networks are a great idea. Most new routers offer them as default so you don't have to spend too much time setting them up and this gives guests internet access without giving them access to your home devices too especially if you and your family members have a lot of guests over. You can also change the settings on your router so only your guest wifi access is broadcast. It's best not to broadcast your main wifi SSID - keep the name hidden so it doesn't show up on wifi geo sites like wigle.net

Not every home router has built-in firewalls, specially for modem-router combos provided by most ISPs. And even if that was common, standard users wouldn't be technically prepared to assess and configure it properly. My personal recommendation for firewalls in home environments is to stick software firewalls (built-in from Windows, for instance) - they are usually user-friendly and ready to block most threats without any pre-configuration from users.

Os firewalls protegem sua rede monitorando e bloqueando ameaças. A maioria dos roteadores possui um firewall interno que deve ser ativado e configurado corretamente. Verifique as configurações do roteador e habilite recursos adicionais, como sistemas de detecção (IDS) e prevenção de intrusão (IPS), para maior segurança.

In my opinion one of the most important aspect in home security is smart or secure practices so educating the yourself and family members about safe online behaviour is absolutely detrimental.

Simply ensuring that your devices are updated regularly and have antivirus / anti-malware installed can help, but smart practices of particular importance revolve around how you interact with your devices in public places where the abundance of networks and other devices significantly increases risk. Here, simple practices, such as avoiding open wifi networks, forgetting open wifi networks that you have connected to, setting your bluetooth settings for privacy over convenience - and not pairing new devices, can ensure that you significantly reduce the risk of compromising your device or online accounts.

One thing I've found useful is to disable ports and services which you don't use. Disable the router administration portal from the internet. Enable logging to keep record of the activity. Setup proxy server and DNS monitoring. If possible, send all the logs to Kibana and see realtime activity.

One of the major factor to be considered is Changing Default Credentials for router: Router Login: Change the default username and password of your router. Default credentials are easily exploitable. Network Name (SSID): Change the default SSID to something unique that does not reveal your personal information

Zero trust framework: Work on implementing Zero trust into your environment. Start with proving that a user is an actual user, using an IDP with MFA, and move forward with utilizing a model of only giving a user access to what is required to accomplish their user requirements. Using a NAC and PAM can help with this tremendously.

I feel that one important aspect is missing from here. That is the endpoint protection such as Antivirus application. One compromised endpoint in the network can compromise whole network. I do not think this category falls under "Smart Practices" per se.

it is essential that the router management is not accessible on the Internet. This reduces the risk surface and the possibility for an attacker to exploit vulnerabilities or attempt a brute force attack to identify the username and password.

Another important point to consider is still awareness. This time for families and home members. Depending on the level of their knowledge and experience with IT, awareness discussions with the possible attacks and threats will be a major change to keep them secure.

Consider network segmentation within the home network depending on your needs of course. As a start think about segmenting those IoT devices and printers where security isn't a prime consideration (changing though due to UK regulation). Also make sure there's a guest VLAN too as you won't want the network to be too flat in terms of device discovery in the same broadcast domain.