Several users are reporting that their QNAP Network-Attached Storage (NAS) (opens in new tab) devices are being subject to brute-force attacks.
Devices from Taiwanese storage manufacturer QNAP (opens in new tab) have been at the receiving end of various cyber attack campaigns lately.
QNAP has been very active in patching vulnerabilities in their devices. Late last year it fixed a cross-site scripting vulnerability (opens in new tab), and issued patches to neutralize malware (opens in new tab) that used the QNAP device to mine cryptocurrency (opens in new tab), earlier this year.
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“Recently QNAP has received multiple user reports of hackers attempting to log in to QNAP devices using brute-force attacks – where hackers would try every possible password (opens in new tab) combination of a QNAP device user account,” warns the company.
Brute force attacks
While the earlier attacks exploit software vulnerabilities on devices that haven’t been patched, the ongoing campaign exploits human behaviour.
The attackers use simple tools to brute-force their way into the device by trying to log in using a list of common passwords (opens in new tab) or a list of previously compromised credentials.
“If a simple, weak, or predictable password is used (such as "password" or "12345") hackers can easily gain access to the device, breaching security, privacy, and confidentiality,” says QNAP, urging users to set strong passwords.
QNAP further suggests users to implement password rotation policies, and even disable the default admin account. Also, since the attack is only possible on Internet-facing NAS devices, QNAP suggests users don’t expose their devices on public networks.
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Via: BleepingComputer (opens in new tab)
