--- title: Your old router is being rented to cybercriminals, and... description: End-of-life routers that no longer receive firmware updates are being hunted and hijacked by cybercriminals, who exploit vulnerable management daemons and... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/your-old-router-is-being-rented-to-cybercriminals-and-the-fbi-knows-it-yjnwfdw1p twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Your old router is being rented to cybercriminals, and the FBI knows it | daily.dev og:description: End-of-life routers that no longer receive firmware updates are being hunted and hijacked by cybercriminals, who exploit vulnerable management daemons and... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/your-old-router-is-being-rented-to-cybercriminals-and-the-fbi-knows-it-yjnwfdw1p og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/YjNwfDW1P.png og:image:alt: Your old router is being rented to cybercriminals, and the FBI knows it og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Your old router is being rented to cybercriminals, and the FBI knows it **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary End-of-life routers that no longer receive firmware updates are being hunted and hijacked by cybercriminals, who exploit vulnerable management daemons and remote administration features to establish persistent root access. These compromised devices, including old Linksys E-series models, are recruited into botnets that rent out residential IP addresses as proxies for credential stuffing, phishing, and DDoS attacks, potentially exposing unsuspecting homeowners to law enforcement attention. Readers are advised to audit their network hardware, retire unsupported devices, and replace them with actively maintained routers or open-source firmware. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Why are old unsupported routers dangerous to keep using at home? Unpatched end-of-life routers often ship with remote administration features or vulnerable management daemons left enabled, which attackers scan for and exploit to gain persistent root access. Once compromised, devices like old Linksys E1200, E2500, or E1000 models get recruited into botnets that resell residential IP addresses as proxies for credential stuffing, phishing, and DDoS attacks. _Developers managing home labs can keep tabs on router security advisories through daily.dev before old hardware becomes a liability._ ### What should I do with a router that no longer receives firmware updates? Check whether the manufacturer still pushes security patches; if not, decommission the device rather than repurposing it as an extra access point. Replace it with a modern commercial router that gets automatic updates, or flash supported open-source firmware onto the old hardware if compatible, then wipe and recycle any unit you retire. _Anyone auditing home network gear can track practical hardening steps like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Most people never update their networking equipment, and cybercriminals know it](https://daily.dev/posts/most-people-never-update-their-networking-equipment-and-cybercriminals-know-it-llxuc2636) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [AryStinger botnet infected thousands of D-Link routers worldwide](https://daily.dev/posts/arystinger-botnet-infected-thousands-of-d-link-routers-worldwide-9f0wocue1) · BleepingComputer · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [US targets foreign-made routers as security concerns rise, but experts warn risks go further](https://daily.dev/posts/us-targets-foreign-made-routers-as-security-concerns-rise-but-experts-warn-risks-go-further-xr3kzlmyo) · IT Security Guru · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#security](https://daily.dev/tags/security) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/your-old-router-is-being-rented-to-cybercriminals-and-the-fbi-knows-it-yjnwfdw1p) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Your old router is being rented to cybercriminals, and the FBI knows it","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/your-old-router-is-being-rented-to-cybercriminals-and-the-fbi-knows-it-yjnwfdw1p","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/your-old-router-is-being-rented-to-cybercriminals-and-the-fbi-knows-it-yjnwfdw1p"},"datePublished":"2026-10-02T18:33:55.871Z","dateModified":"2026-10-02T18:48:55.549Z","description":"End-of-life routers that no longer receive firmware updates are being hunted and hijacked by cybercriminals, who exploit vulnerable management daemons and...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/e02e11692762afb1e22cfe85b581d6c8?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/e02e11692762afb1e22cfe85b581d6c8?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/your-old-router-is-being-rented-to-cybercriminals-and-the-fbi-knows-it-yjnwfdw1p","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"security","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Your old router is being rented to cybercriminals, and the FBI knows it"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/your-old-router-is-being-rented-to-cybercriminals-and-the-fbi-knows-it-yjnwfdw1p#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Why are old unsupported routers dangerous to keep using at home?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Unpatched end-of-life routers often ship with remote administration features or vulnerable management daemons left enabled, which attackers scan for and exploit to gain persistent root access. 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