The FBI wants you to reboot your router NOW to help destroy a botnet

In a public service announcement published Friday and noted by Ars Technica, and a new addition to aUS Department of Justice press release, the FBI explains that it’s hoping that your actions will help the US government destroy a botnet before a Russian hacking group, Sofacy, can harden the malware’s defenses. How would pressing a button on your router help, though? According to the FBI, rebooting your router will destroy the part of the malware that can do nasty things like spy on your activities, while leaving the install package intact.

And when that install package phones home to download the nasty part, the FBI will be able to trace that — because the US government says it’s seized a critical domain that the Russian hackers were allegedly using. The FBI confirmed to CNET that yes, it’s asking everyowner of a consumer or small business router to do this. Why not just the infected ones?

Because it’s not yet clear how far the infection has spread.

Source: cnet.com