The $50 Router That Almost Sank a $5M Business

By Todd Wentz • June 12, 2025

It started with a $50 router from a big-box store. The kind meant for streaming Netflix, not securing a business network. The owner figured, “It connects to the internet. What more do I need?” Three months later, after a data breach and three days of downtime, he found out exactly what he needed—and what it cost him not to have it.

False Economy: When Saving Money Isn’t Saving Anything

This isn’t fiction. A growing number of ransomware attacks and data breaches originate from outdated or consumer-grade networking gear. One high-profile example: the VPNFilter malware campaign, which infected over half a million routers worldwide—including common brands like Linksys, MikroTik, Netgear, and TP-Link. Many affected businesses were SMBs using off-the-shelf routers with default credentials, open ports, and outdated firmware. The attackers used these footholds to launch further attacks, intercept traffic, and even “brick” the devices remotely.

What’s Wrong with Consumer Routers?

No regular firmware updates: Once they hit end-of-life, security patches stop—often silently.
Default credentials: Many users never change the admin username or password.
Risky services left on: UPnP, WPS, and remote admin are often enabled by default.
No visibility: Logs? Alerts? Threat detection? Not on a $50 router.

How Hackers Find You

Ever heard of Shodan? It’s a search engine for internet-connected devices. Try looking up “netgear login” or “port:23 country:US” and you’ll find thousands of exposed devices ripe for exploitation. These scans are continuous, automated, and opportunistic—you don’t need to be targeted to be compromised.

What Smart SMBs Do Instead

Use business-grade firewalls with automatic firmware updates and layered protections.
Disable unused services like UPnP, WPS, and remote access.
Implement VLANs to segment guest WiFi from internal systems.
Log WAN activity and review it monthly—ideally with alerting built-in.
Know when your hardware is out of date—and plan upgrades proactively.

The Bottom Line

Hackers don’t care how big your business is. They care how easy you are to exploit. And that $50 router might as well have a welcome sign hanging off it.

🛡️ Want to check your current gear? Download our free Secure Router Checklist and find out in minutes whether your network is helping—or hurting—you.