Black Box Pen Testing of a Home Router

The Topic

This capstone would be a deep dive into the security of routers that people would purchase from an ISP or tech store. This would compare the features that are used to protect the network as well as the password strength and routing capability of each.

Overview

This topic interested our team because it would be a way to test the security of our own devices as well as showcase and expand on our pen-testing abilities. This project would also give us some hands on experience when it comes to gaining access to a physical device, whether it be through brute force or by using vulnerabilities. All three members of the team are interested in seeing how many vulnerabilities and methods of access a malicious actor has available to them with the devices that will be used, as well as how to best defend against these intrusions.

Topic Description

For this project, we would choose 3 different models of the router to try to gain access to using any method available to us. This project would have us researching different methods of entry to the devices, including any vulnerabilities that may be underlying in the device that would allow for abuse. This project would allow us to have a better understanding of how to manage home network security, as well as test how secure these devices are. Once we have uncovered any vulnerabilities or other methods of entry to the network we would log them, and research what fixes and security changes can be put in place to stop them.