ICSA Labs to certify broadband home routers

Hackers are increasingly viewing home routers as a means of gaining access to sensitive personal data. To help combat this threat, ICSA Labs is offering a new program under which manufacturers can have their broadband home routers certified.

The program, Managed Broadband Home Router Certification, evaluates a router’s effectiveness in identifying safe versus harmful data, and then in denying access to malicious data.

Certified broadband home routers (BHRs), which are generally used to connect computers on a home network to the Internet, can offer consumers a higher level of security assurance.

ICSA Labs awarded the first Managed Broadband Home Router Certification to Actiontec’s M1424WR family of wireless home routers, which includes MI424-WR Rev.E and MI424-WR Rev.F.

“While attacks targeted at routers are not a new threat, we are seeing an increase in attacks against broadband home routers,” said Brian Monkman, technology programs manager, ICSA Labs. “This threat is exacerbated by the fact that all too often, consumers assume that these products, which are designed to be configured quickly and easily, have the appropriate safeguards in place. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.”

The certification program was developed under ICSA Labs’ ISO 9001/IEC 17025 accredited framework, which verifies the organization’s quality-management systems and technical competence.