When it comes to home cybersecurity, experts tell CTVNews.ca that too many Canadians are overlooking their Wi-Fi routers, leaving their networks vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
“The word ‘router’ for most casual users of technology is often somewhat intimidating,” London, Ont.-based technology analyst Carmi Levy told CTVNews.ca over the phone on Friday.
“They’re intimidated by this technology. They just want it to work and then once it’s working, they don’t want to tempt fate by digging into the settings and making any changes.”
Having a compromised router could allow hackers to spy on everything that you’re doing online, including your banking and medical information, or steal your bandwidth. A compromised router can even give hackers access to your security cameras, baby mentors and other smart home devices on the network.
“There were recent incidents where baby monitors got hacked,” said Toronto-based cybersecurity expert Ritesh Kotak in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca on Friday. “That’s some scary stuff.”
Hackers can also use a compromised router to replace the websites that you want to visit with fake phishing websites and try to steal your login credentials and personal info, through a process known as “DNS hijacking.”
Cybersecurity firm Bitdefender reported on one such DNS hijacking scheme back in March 2020, when victims hoping to visit certain major websites were redirected to a fake message from the World Health Organization about COVID-19 asking them to download a malicious app.
“Think of your router as another lock on your front door. And if you leave that lock vulnerable, it’s one less step for cyber criminals to go through in order to get to you,” said Levy.
Here are some tips on how to secure your home network:
CHANGE THE DEFAULT PASSWORDS
One of the easiest ways to make sure your router is secure is to change all the default passwords on it, experts say.
Changing your Wi-Fi password to something that can’t easily be guessed and hiding your SSID (or the name of if your Wi-Fi network) can go a long way in stopping a neighbour from stealing your internet bandwidth.
“There’s some risk in that if crimes actually get committed by that individual’s computer, it’s your IP address that’s going to come up in that police report,” Kotak said.
Some newer routers can even send you notifications whenever a new device connects to your network. If your router has this feature, Kotak recommends enabling it.
“If a new device connects, I get notified that a new device has connected. If the device doesn’t look familiar, I’m going to start questioning it,” he said.
You should also change the username and password to your router’s settings page. Refer to your router’s manual or the manufacturer’s website to find out how to access this page and change the credentials.
Kotak notes that default passwords for router settings pages often have extremely easy-to-guess default usernames and passwords, such as “admin” and “password,” and that it’s important to use a strong, unique password that combines uppercase and lowercase letters along with numbers.
KEEP THE ROUTER’S FIRMWARE UP TO DATE
It’s also important to keep your router’s firmware up to date. Manufacturers regularly release firmware updates in order to patch security vulnerabilities.
“Hackers will discover weaknesses in certain equipment, including routers, and then the company that manufactures the router will release a security update or patch that you must download and install to close up that vulnerability,” said Levy.
“The problem is that many people don’t even bother to do this. They just buy the router, they plug it in and then they forget about it.”
Some newer routers able to automatically update their firmware. But for most routers, you’ll have to download the firmware and install it yourself. Check your router manufacturer’s website or the manual for instructions on how to do this.
ENABLE THE GUEST NETWORK
If you have guests over and want to give them your Wi-Fi password, consider setting up a guest network, which allows your guests’ devices to connect to the internet while being separated from the rest of the devices on your network.
If you have any smart home devices, such as a Google Home or a Ring doorbell, Kotak also recommends putting those devices on the guest network to keep them secure.
None of these methods are 100 per cent foolproof, but Kotak says that it’s all about adding more layers of security and creating more “friction” for potential attackers.
“Friction is good. The more steps that you have for somebody get access to the network, the better.”
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
