This Russian military intelligence group has been stealing people's sensitive data, so you might want to connect your router through a VPN

It’s sad to think that there are a lot of people out there who just see the internet as a useful tool for talking to friends, buying stuff, and finding things to watch, without any real awareness of the fact that, without a VPN, it leave them very exposed. The recent Russian cybersecurity threat identified by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in the UK is a perfect example of this.

So what’s going on? Well, the NCSC has discovered that Russian military intelligence group, APT28, has been hijacking vulnerable routers in the UK. By exploiting a DNS issue, internet users are unknowingly having their connection redirected through a malicious server, which is extracting sensitive data from them – this includes login credentials, search histories, private messages, and more.

Essentially, these are hidden anti-VPNs. While services like NordVPN, Proton VPN, Surfshark, CyberGhost, and ExpressVPN also redirect your traffic through another server, they do so in order to keep your data private from your internet service provider (ISP). Comparatively, these shady Russian servers will extract everything they can from you – which is much more than your ISP would ever take.

APT28’s exact motives have not been clearly established, though the NCSC believes that it has intentionally cast a very wide net. Once it has accumulated loads of data, it’ll likely analyse it to see what can be used in the aid of its goals. This could end up looking like lots of different things.

Data related to businesses is likely going to be of the most interest, especially anything related to manufacturing in infrastructure or military contractors. However, data from ordinary people can be utilized as well. For instance, the data it extracts from someone might identify them as being particularly vulnerable to misleading content on social media, and then make sure to show them things which will lead them to believe things that align with Russian interests. Things like the Cambridge Analytica scandal highlight just how easy this type of manipulation can be.

The NCSC has given guidance to help protect people from this kind of data-theft, however, it’s high-end guidance the businesses and organizations that are responsible for online privacy, rather than individuals. Naturally, VPNs are one of the best routes for anyone looking to reinforce their online privacy. After all, your connection can’t be routed through a server that is extracting all of your data if it’s already being routed through a server that is protecting your privacy. Most of the major providers let you easily redirect your router (and so everything in your house) through the VPN.

Check out our list of the best VPN services if you want some insight into which provider is right for you. Our top recommendation is NordVPN, but there are a lot of good ones out there.