(Paid Post by Norton Core From The New York Times)
Advances in router security are protecting home networks – and the devices you use every day.
As connected devices in our homes become ever more common, so too do vulnerabilities that leave our personal lives exposed to hackers.
12.8 billion
The number of connected “things” predicted to be used by consumers in 2020, up from 5.5 billion in 2017. Each represents a potential vulnerability on a home network that can be protected with the help of a Norton Core TM secure Wi-Fi router.9
Remember when a chunk of the internet went dark for more than three hours1 on Oct. 21, 2016? The outage demonstrated that the internet itself is only as secure as our individual devices — the attack that took down PayPal, Netflix and other sites across the Eastern Seaboard and Europe was launched by malware-infected webcams, DVRs2 and other connected gadgets. In short, our seemingly innocuous consumer devices became the tools of hackers.
While hacking high-profile accounts for commercial or political gain is prominent in the news3, less well known — but just as destructive on a personal level4 — are cyberattacks such as hijacked webcam feeds or assaults on credit card linked gaming machines. As a consequence, we often neglect protecting our personal digital valuables5. Even though the information that flows in and out of our home networks is typically as valuable as the physical objects we own, and most people protect those items with alarm systems, locks, fences and even dogs.