F-Secure uncovers counterfeit Cisco network devices

  Finnish cybersecurity company F-Secure has published a report detailing its investigation into a pair of counterfeit Cisco network switches. The investigation concludes that the counterfeits had been designed to bypass processes that authenticate system components. Two different counterfeit versions of Cisco Catalyst 2960-X series switches were discovered by an IT company after a software update stopped them from working. Investigators found that while the counterfeits did not have any backdoor-like functionality, they did employ various measures to fool security controls. For example, one of the units exploited what the research team believes to be a previously undiscovered software vulnerability… [Continue Reading]