A technician has installed the hardware for a SOHO wired network. Which of the following is the FIRST step to securing the network?

The correct answer is B. Change default usernames and passwords. The very first step in securing any network device (router, switch, access point) is changing the default credentials. Manufacturers ship devices with well-known default usernames and passwords (e.g., admin/admin) that are publicly documented, making them trivially exploitable…

Networking

Question

Options

AEnable MAC filtering
BChange default usernames and passwords
CDisable unused ports
DAssign static IP addresses

How the community answered

(24 responses)

A
4% (1)
B
92% (22)
D
4% (1)

Explanation

The very first step in securing any network device (router, switch, access point) is changing the default credentials. Manufacturers ship devices with well-known default usernames and passwords (e.g., admin/admin) that are publicly documented, making them trivially exploitable. Until defaults are changed, all other security measures can be bypassed. MAC filtering, disabling unused ports, and static IPs are all valid hardening steps, but they are meaningless if an attacker can simply log in with the default admin password.

Topics

#SOHO security#default credentials#network security#password management

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