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Cisco Router Hack Inspires New Patching Religion

Posted by timothy on from the which-wire-to-cut-first? dept.

ancientribe writes "The dirty little secret about patching routers is that many enterprises don't bother — for fear of the fallout any changes to their Cisco router software could have on the rest of their infrastructure. But the recent discovery of a way to easily hack these devices has put pressure on organizations to change their ways and patch. This article in Dark Reading gives tips on how to patch without taking down the network, including input from Cisco's own director of IT on how Cisco itself handles router patching."

10 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. Crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Hope my boss doesn't hear of this and ask me how we're doing on patching the routing equipment. It's always a nervous wait as the stuff comes back up, we tend to block things at the perimeter and via ACLs.

  2. Not fear, just a respect for reality by Glendale2x · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Fear? What the hell? It's well known that infrastructure collapsing bugs are frequently introduced. Some trains of IOS have a horrible reputation depending on your platform. And playing in T train land? Good luck with that game of Russian roulette.

    --
    this is my sig
    1. Re:Not fear, just a respect for reality by dave562 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This has been my experience as well. Cisco hardware seems to be rock solid once you get it configured. However it often times falls into the, "If it ain't broke, don't even think about fucking touching it." mentality.

  3. SLA? by doas777 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    if they want me to patch my router, then they should give me the patch for free, don't you think?

    1. Re:SLA? by mikkelm · · Score: 3, Informative

      They do. You'll able to use every minor release in your release train free of charge, and they'll be developed for your platform until the product reaches end of life. You don't pay for patches.

  4. Re:SLA? - They do. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    If there is a security vulnerability in your IOS, call Cisco, say you have no support contract and they will give you the latest patch at your release level for nothing (or an upgraded release if there is no patch at your level).

  5. Re:getting the patches is the problem by amorsen · · Score: 2, Informative

    If you manage to get hold of the actual Cisco vulnerability statement, it contains information about how to request a patched version even if you don't have a service contract.

    --
    Finally! A year of moderation! Ready for 2019?
  6. Re:Guidelines = Religion? by drsmithy · · Score: 2, Funny

    Shall we apply all of the horrors that Atheists have committed to all Atheists as well?

    How many of them were done in the name of Atheism ?

  7. Re:Guidelines = Religion? by gad_zuki! · · Score: 2, Informative

    >Hell, I'll go so far as to say that religion serves most people better in making their way in the world than all the over-prescribed anti-depressants, etc.

    Whenever I see a defense of religion I see an attack on psychiatry. I think people who are clinging to beliefs out of desperation and ignorance as opposed to choice and for betterment are truly threatened by the fact the therapy has become a secular "religion." You can learn to cope without belief in the invisible man in the sky. The fact that secular people are doing this and that it works is threatening their worldview, thus the jabs at SSRIs (which truly help people) and other childish attacks.

  8. Re:Guidelines = Religion? by neomunk · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Lessee... Yeah, I think this is appropriate...

    In Soviet Russia, religion denies YOU!