The Cyber Defense eMagazine November Edition for 2023

Guest networks are especially important because you don’t know how others use their devices. If their
device is infected, that infection could spread to your networks. Additionally, visitors could lose their
devices or accidentally reveal your network password to others.
If a guest were to lose their device or reveal your guest network password, there is less potential for harm
if you have proper network segmentation. Preventing networks from seeing each other provides traffic
and access segmentation, which can prevent network segmentation-caused breaches, such as the attack
on Target many years ago.
Take the time to review your networking needs and develop your own list of networks. If your home
networking equipment provides an option that prevents networks from seeing each other, be sure to
activate it.
6. Continually Update Home Network Equipment
Be sure to continually update your home networking equipment. Just like computers and phones,
networking equipment receives updates, which provide critical security fixes, security enhancements and
new features.
You can view a list of all known vulnerabilities (and their severity levels) associated with your home
network equipment. The National Vulnerability Database maintains a list of known Common
Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE). The CVE number associated with each vulnerability contains the
year it was discovered/registered as a CVE.
Visit https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/search and provide the make and model of your home network equipment
in the “Keyword Search” box and click the “Search” button. Keep in mind, several of the vulnerabilities
listed may have already been remediated with firmware updates provided by the manufacturer.
If you can’t set up automatic updates, simply set a calendar reminder or opt-in to your network provider’s
notifications to make sure your equipment is running at its most secure state. If you purchase used
equipment or prefer a more manual process, you can reference your home network equipment firmware
and check the manufacturer’s website for updates.
Remember to warn other users of your home network before launching the firmware update, as these
updates usually drop connections while they install the new firmware and reboot.
7. Contact the Manufacturer
Finally, if you want to avoid restarting or restoring network default settings when you are experiencing
issues with your home network, you can always reach out to the manufacturer.
With the rise of remote work and cloud-based storage and applications, it’s vital to keep your household
network and all the information in it secure. It’s as important as locking your doors at night.
Cyber Defense eMagazine – November 2023 Edition 58
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