--- title: "Daily Buzz: Tell Your Employees to Check Their Router’s Firmware Security" id: "50513" type: "post" slug: "daily-buzz-tell-your-employees-to-check-their-routers-firmware-security" published_at: "2020-07-09T21:53:13+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-17T03:41:50+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2020/07/09/daily-buzz-tell-your-employees-to-check-their-routers-firmware-security/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2020/07/09/daily-buzz-tell-your-employees-to-check-their-routers-firmware-security.md" excerpt: "A new report shows that home routers are affected by hundreds of security vulnerabilities. Also: Your onboarding program should benefit members first." taxonomy_category: - "Membership" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "cybersecurity" - "remote work" - "routers" - "Technology" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Director" - "Manager" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Daily Buzz: Tell Your Employees to Check Their Router’s Firmware Security Want to protect your remote employees from cyberattacks? Tell them to check their home routers, which could be leaving them vulnerable. [ZDNet reports that (opens in a new tab)](https://www.zdnet.com/article/home-router-warning-theyre-riddled-with-known-flaws-and-run-ancient-unpatched-linux/) Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Communication (FKIE) carried out a study involving 127 home routers from seven brands—Netgear, ASUS, AVM, D-Link, Linksys, TP-Link, and Zyxel—to check for the presence of known security vulnerabilities in the latest firmware. The results? Appalling, writes *ZDNet*’s Liam Tung. The study found that 46 routers hadn’t gotten a single security update within the past year and that many routers are affected by hundreds of known vulnerabilities. About 90 percent of the routers in the study used a Linux operating system, but manufacturers weren’t updating the OS with fixes made available from Linux kernel maintainers. On top of that, the study found that vendors who are shipping firmware updates are doing so without fixing known vulnerabilities, meaning even consumers who install the latest firmware are not safe. “The bottom line … is that you should research [manufacturers] before purchasing your next router, and see what their track record is like with respect to security updates and firmware upgrades,” [says Brandon Hill on HotHardware (opens in a new tab)](https://hothardware.com/news/millions-of-home-wi-fi-routers-linux-exploits) . “Don’t let attractive pricing take your eye off the ball.” FKIE assessed that ASUS, Netgear, and particularly AVM do a better job on some aspects of securing routers than D-Link, Linksys, TP-Link, and Zyxel, but urged the industry to do more to keep users safe. “To sum it up, much more effort is needed to make home routers as secure as current desktop or server systems,” [the report says (opens in a new tab)](https://www.fkie.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/fkie/de/documents/HomeRouter/HomeRouterSecurity_2020_Bericht.pdf) . ### Focus on the Member Experience First > Successful new member onboarding programs are built around what members need rather than what the association needs. [https://t.co/tQDofunNAi (opens in a new tab)](https://t.co/tQDofunNAi) > [#ASAE (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/ASAE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [#CSAE (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/CSAE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [pic.twitter.com/J2c4kCQDYo (opens in a new tab)](https://t.co/J2c4kCQDYo) > > — Amanda Lea Kaiser (@AmandaLeaKaiser) [June 29, 2020 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/AmandaLeaKaiser/status/1277573245177380864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) **Ready to onboard new members and employees?** Don’t bombard them with paperwork and protocols right off the bat, [suggests Smooth the Path’s Amanda Kaiser (opens in a new tab)](http://www.smooththepath.net/2020/06/25/focus-on-experience-before-focusing-on-the-paperwork/) . “If your association’s onboarding process is administratively focused, it is time for a change,” she says. “What do your new members need to know today? What problems are they struggling with that you have the solution to? How can you show them that they have just entered a large community of like-minded peers?” Build your onboarding programs around what *members* need, not what the association needs. ### Other Links of Note **The key to effective nonprofit video engagement** is eliciting emotions in the audience, argues [a recent post (opens in a new tab)](https://www.nptechforgood.com/2020/07/05/the-science-of-nonprofit-video-engagement-how-to-use-emotion-to-increase-social-sharing/) from *Nonprofit Tech for Good*. **Remote work has opened up more opportunities** for cyberattacks. *TechSoup* [identifies multiple ways (opens in a new tab)](https://blog.techsoup.org/posts/nonprofit-remote-security-during-covid-19) your nonprofit can improve remote security. **What will successful leaders of the future** have in common? They’ll focus on three key adjectives: inclusive, interpersonal, and representative, [says Ulysses Smith (opens in a new tab)](https://qz.com/work/1878454/successful-leaders-of-the-future-will-share-three-main-traits/) on *Quartz at Work*. (deepblue4you/E+/Getty Images Plus) [Michael Hickey](https://associationsnow.com/author/michael-hickey/) Michael Hickey is a contributor to Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/michael-hickey/) Tags: [#cybersecurity](https://associationsnow.com/tag/cybersecurity/) [#remote work](https://associationsnow.com/tag/remote-work/) [#routers](https://associationsnow.com/tag/routers/) [#Technology](https://associationsnow.com/tag/technology/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Tech Stack: How AI Is Changing the Association PlaybookOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-tech-stack-how-ai-is-changing-the-association-playbook/) - [PodcastSecuring Identity: What Associations Need to Know About Verifiable CredentialsJune 25, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/06/25/securing-identity-what-associations-need-to-know-about-verifiable-credentials/) - [TemplateMembers onlyMember Onboarding ToolkitNovember 5, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/05/member-onboarding-toolkit/) - [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2020%2F07%2F09%2Fdaily-buzz-tell-your-employees-to-check-their-routers-firmware-security%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !