Russian State Hackers Target Vulnerable Routers Worldwide

Cybersecurity agencies from 12 countries have issued a fresh warning that a Russian state-sponsored cyber unit is actively targeting vulnerable routers worldwide.

The joint advisory detailed how Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Center 16 cyber actors have been observed hunting for vulnerable routers by scanning the internet for devices that still use default or weak Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) passwords and community strings.

Center 16 is also known as Berserk Bear, Energetic Bear, Crouching Yeti, Dragonfly, Ghost Blizzard and Static Tundra.

Sectors most at risk from this global targeting, including communications, defence, energy, financial services, government and healthcare, are being urged to take action.

This includes using SNMPv3, as it provides built-in authentication and encryption capabilities that help protect management traffic from interception and tampering.

SNMPv1 and SNMPv2 rely on community strings transmitted in plaintext, making them vulnerable to network sniffing. If an attacker obtains a valid community string and gains successful SNMP access, they can use Object Identifiers (OIDs) to command the router to copy its configurations and send it via Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP). These exfiltrated files are then sent to a virtual private server leased by the threat actor or a compromised file transfer protocol server.

As well as hunting for vulnerable routers via scanning for weak SNMP passwords and community strings, the Russian threat actor has also been known to occasionally exploit common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) in Cisco devices.

In 2025, Cisco warned that a seven-year-old vulnerability (CVE-2018-0171) in the Smart Install feature of unpatched, often end-of-life Cisco devices, was being exploited by Center 16/Static Tundra. Customers were urged to apply the patch for CVE-2018-0171 or to disable Smart Install if patching is not an option. The patch was first issued in 2018.

The joint security advisory noted that many of the TTPs used by this Russian threat actor overlaps with that of other groups, such as China-linked group Slat Typhoon.

The advisory has been co-authored by agencies from Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden, the UK and US.

EU, UK Blame Center 16 for Poland’s Energy Grid Cyber-Attack

At the same time as the publication of the joint advisory, the coordinated cyber-attacks which targeted Poland’s energy infrastructure in late 2025 have been officially attributed to FSB Center 16 by the UK and European Union (EU).

In a statement issued on July 13, the UK government said: “This reckless attack failed but could have caused 500,000 citizens to lose electricity in the depths of winter. It is another example of the Russian state’s irresponsible attempts to sow chaos across Europe.”

The EU and UK have also issued a joint sanctions package targeting 24 individuals and entities behind the destructive cyber and hybrid operations including cybercriminals involved in proxy networks linked to the Russian Intelligence Services.

The UK is also sanctioning individuals behind Lumma Stealer. The UK government said that Russia has used Lumma Stealer’s stolen credentials to conduct cyber espionage operations against targets globally to support the Kremlin’s objectives.   

According to the National Crime Agency, within the last six months, there have been at least 2100 Lumma Stealer victims in the UK.