It seems these days it’s popular to have a Chinese-based company in the headlines for alleged misdeeds or ties to the Communist government. The latest company to come under scrutiny is TP-Link, a maker of inexpensive routers and other networking gear. The WSJ broke the news a few weeks ago that multiple US government departments are investigating the company and its devices under the broad “national-security risk” banner. One of the main complaints is that their routers are more likely than competitors’ products to have software bugs, making TP-Link devices vulnerable to participating in “botnet” attacks on other IT infrastructure. Also at issue is the low retail price for TP-Link products; apparently one of the investigations is to see if the company is selling their products for less than the cost to manufacture in an unfair attempt to gain market share. So what should you do if you own TP-Link gear? In short, don’t panic and wait for an official determination to be made. But regardless of the brand of your router it’s always a good idea to regularly check the device for firmware updates that may patch known vulnerabilities. And if the router has gone “end of life” and is no longer receiving updates then I do recommend replacing it with a new model. Refer to your owner’s manual or the manufacturer's website for instructions, or contact me to schedule assistance.
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