IoT devices are known to be vulnerable to cyber attacks. The best known instance of such an attack is probably the Mirai botnet. The botnet infected numerous IoT devices (such as home routers and IP security cameras) and used them to perform a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. It brought down major web sites like CNN, Spotify, Twitter, Netflix, and Reddit, and was believed to be the largest DDoS attack ever launched.
IoT devices are more vulnerable than personal computers and smart phones because manufacturers don’t put in as much effort to secure the devices, and there aren’t things like anti-virus software for them. A lot of times these devices are shipped with default usernames and passwords that users aren’t even aware of, because they are not documented. All of the above make IoT devices easy targets for hackers.
And it could get worse. Hackers can exploit these IoT vulnerabilities to gain access to your more prized possessions – your personal information. Some people have fallen victim to ransomware because hackers took control of their home network.
One of the techniques to mitigate the IoT vulnerabilities is to put IoT devices on the guest network. So on your main WiFi network you have your PC, printer, NAS, smart phones and tablets. On the guest WiFi network, your smart door bells, smart thermostat, security cameras, or Alexa. If one of your smart IoT device is hacked, the hacker cannot use it as a springboard to get to your PC, printer or NAS.
The pcWRT router supports guest network on both wireless and wired connections.
To create a guest WiFi network:
To attach a LAN port to the guest network: