FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASETP-LINK Responds to Claims of “Backdoor” Flaws in their Wireless Routers
Citing research publish by Polish information systems security professional, Michał Sajdak, TP-LINK dispels assertions of a backdoor in its wireless routers(Shenzhen, China) – March 15, 2013 -
TP-LINK, a global provider of networking products, today responded to research published in Poland that would seem to suggest that several of the company’s wireless routers were vulnerable to attack using an existing URL embedded in the company’s routers. The Company’s R&D team remarked that this was a case of a misunderstanding, remarking that the URL was simply a tool that TP-LINK uses internally to test certain products.
Crucially, the alleged “Back door” is a misnomer, without access to the router in the first instance. In order to perform the hacks mentioned in Mr. Sajdak’s research, one must already be connected to the network, either via a wired connection or wirelessly, which needless to say, can be prevented by setting up a standard WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK wireless encryption.
TP-LINK says that regardless of whether the hack would be effective in an unsecured network, the company always encourages users to set up security on their routers as soon as they set them up, to prevent any kind of malicious activity that may occur in everyday Internet usage. To this end, in the interest of further protecting end-users from malicious activity on the web, TP-LINK’s wireless routers have begun shipping pre-encrypted, which makes for a quicker setup, but also ensures that end-user networks are protected from the moment they are plugged in.
TP-LINK remains grateful to Mr. Sajdak and tech-savvy people like him for bringing issues like this to the company’s attention, and encourages this type of insight into the company’s products. “We normally get back to cases such as this quite quickly”, says Global Communications Manager, Daniel Beach, “unfortunately with the national holidays in China for Chinese New Year, when Michał got in touch with us, the majority of our staff was away on holiday, hence the lack of a response from our end. Hopefully we can avoid this in the future. “
TP-LINK intends to release a full report on the perceived problem within the next two weeks, to further alleviate any misconceptions on the issue.
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About TP-LINK
TP-LINK is a global provider of SOHO and SMB networking products and is the World's No.1 provider of WLAN and Broadband CPE devices. Our products are available in over 120 countries to tens of millions customers. Committed to intensive R&D, efficient production and strict quality management, TP-LINK continues to provide award-winning networking products in Wireless, ADSL, Routers, Switches, IP Cameras, Powerline Adapters, Print Servers, Media Converters and Network Adapters for Global end-users.
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http://www.tp-link.com/en/Media Contact:
Daniel Beach
Global Communications Manager
dan.beach@tp-link.com
+86 (755) 2153 4103 (China)
TP-LINK Technologies Co., Ltd.
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Central Science & Technology Park, Nanshan, Shenzhen, China
518057