What are the major risks of Industrial Router Deployment and Prevention Strategies?
- Admin
- Mar 5
- 14 min read
Table of Contents
Introduction: Why Industrial Routers Have Become Critical Security Nodes
The 5 Major Security Risks of Industrial Router Deployment
How IIoT Devices Can Meet Cybersecurity Compliance Requirements
Security Capabilities Enterprises Should Prioritize When Selecting Industrial Routers
Introduction: Why Industrial Routers Have Become Critical Security Nodes
Industrial routers are not ordinary office network devices. They operate in harsh physical environments — wide temperature ranges, high humidity, and strong electromagnetic interference — while simultaneously supporting core operations such as production scheduling, remote maintenance, and data collection. A successful attack can range from production downtime at minimum to safety incidents or large-scale data breaches at worst.
In recent years, cyberattacks targeting industrial infrastructure have grown exponentially. The Dragos 2024 Industrial Cybersecurity Report found that over 70% of initial intrusion paths in OT environments involved remote access devices, with industrial routers being among the most frequently abused.
The unique characteristics of industrial routers manifest across three dimensions:
The conflict between high-availability requirements and security updates: Production lines cannot tolerate downtime, leaving extremely limited windows for firmware upgrades. Many devices continue running on outdated firmware with known vulnerabilities.
The convergence boundary between OT and IT: Industrial routers are often simultaneously connected to OT systems such as SCADA and DCS, as well as enterprise IT systems like ERP, making them natural pivot points for lateral movement. Once an attacker controls the router, they can penetrate in both directions.
Escalating regulatory compliance pressure: The EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and the RED Delegated Regulation (including EN 18031) are elevating the security requirements for industrial routers to legally mandatory status. Non-compliant products face market bans.
Against this backdrop, vendors such as Wavetel IoT — focused on industrial-grade IoT terminal devices — place security capabilities at the core of product design, offering one-stop IoT connectivity solutions that balance reliability and security for customers in energy, smart manufacturing, security, and environmental sectors.
The 5 Major Security Risks of Industrial Router Deployment
2.1 Unauthorized Access Risk
Many industrial routers ship with generic administrative accounts (such as admin/admin) preset at the factory, and field engineers often skip initial security configuration under project schedule pressure. More critically, some devices contain vendor-reserved special accounts that remain exposed to the internet without being publicly documented.
Typical attack path: Attackers scan public-facing industrial router management interfaces (HTTP/HTTPS/Telnet/SSH) using Shodan or Censys, attempt login using default credential dictionaries or brute force, and upon obtaining root access, install persistent backdoors or directly access internal OT devices.
The 2021 Oldsmar, Florida water treatment plant incident is frequently cited as a cautionary example: operators observed the sodium hydroxide concentration in the system spike suddenly from the normal 100 ppm to a dangerous 11,000 ppm and manually intervened to correct it. However, after a four-month FBI investigation, the conclusion was that no external network intrusion had occurred — the anomaly was likely caused by an internal operator error. Nevertheless, the investigation simultaneously revealed serious security vulnerabilities at the facility: remote desktop software (TeamViewer) with extremely weak passwords, a Windows 7 operating system no longer receiving security support, and multiple employees sharing a single remote access account. These vulnerabilities themselves were sufficient to constitute real attack vectors and warrant serious attention.
Prevention key points: Enforce password change from defaults on first login; enable account lockout policies (e.g., lock for 30 minutes after 5 consecutive failures); close all unused management ports; enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for remote management access.
2.2 Unencrypted Data Transmission Risk
Many industrial communication protocols (such as Modbus TCP, DNP3, and PROFINET) were not designed with encryption in mind, transmitting data in plaintext across the network. Additionally, some industrial router web management interfaces still use HTTP rather than HTTPS, and VPN tunnels between devices may employ outdated encryption algorithms (such as DES or MD5).
Core risk scenarios: Attackers on the same industrial Ethernet segment can intercept or tamper with PLC commands through man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks; plaintext management protocols such as Telnet and FTP directly expose administrator credentials; unauthenticated control frames can be forged, causing devices to execute unintended operations.
Prevention key points: Enforce HTTPS (TLS 1.2 and above) for all management interfaces; disable Telnet and allow only SSH v2; use AES-256 encryption for VPN tunnels; upgrade SNMPv1/v2 to SNMPv3 (with authentication and encryption).
Taking Wavetel IoT's WR575 and WR574 series 5G industrial routers as an example, the devices natively support multiple encrypted tunnel protocols including IPsec, OpenVPN, WireGuard, L2TP, and GRE, along with AES-encrypted Wi-Fi (WPA2/WPA3), effectively eliminating plaintext transmission risks in industrial environments.
2.3 Firmware Vulnerabilities and Missing Patch Risk
The lifecycle of industrial routers typically spans 10 to 15 years, while vendor security support periods often fall short of 5 years. Large numbers of devices run firmware versions with known CVE vulnerabilities and, due to end-of-sale or end-of-service status, cannot receive official patches. Even when patches exist, the downtime restrictions of industrial environments cause updates to lag severely.
According to ICS-CERT statistics, approximately 40% of industrial network attacks exploit known vulnerabilities that have publicly available patches but have not been remediated — the so-called "N-day vulnerabilities."
Common vulnerability types include: remote code execution (RCE) triggered via web interfaces or diagnostic ports; buffer overflows in third-party components such as OpenSSL and HTTP parsing libraries; hard-coded credentials from vendor test accounts not removed in production versions; and insecure boot chains lacking Secure Boot that allow replacement with malicious firmware.
Prevention key points: Maintain a firmware version asset inventory and regularly cross-reference known CVEs in the NVD database; require vendors to provide a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) to proactively identify third-party component risks; establish maintenance window plans to ensure security patches can be deployed within a reasonable timeframe. Wavetel IoT supports multi-channel remote management via RMS (Remote Management System), TR069, and SMS to complete remote firmware distribution and upgrades without interrupting core business operations.
2.4 OT Network Lateral Penetration Risk
In many industrial environments, there is no effective isolation between IT and OT networks. Industrial routers handle both enterprise network traffic and are directly connected to control devices such as PLCs and HMIs. Once the router is compromised, attackers can use it as a pivot to move laterally throughout the OT network.
The Purdue Model specifies a hierarchical zone structure for industrial networks, but in reality many enterprise network architectures have been flattened by cloud migration, with Level 0–2 control networks directly interconnected with Level 3–5 enterprise networks, eliminating critical security boundaries.
The 2022 Industroyer2 attack on Ukraine's power grid clearly demonstrated the destructive potential of this risk: attackers penetrated the OT network through an IT boundary router and ultimately reached substation protective relay devices, causing large-scale power outages.
Prevention key points: Enforce OT network segmentation according to the IEC 62443 Zone and Conduit model; configure strict access control lists (ACLs) on industrial routers to prohibit direct communication between OT subnets and enterprise networks; deploy industrial firewalls for deep packet inspection of cross-zone traffic. Wavetel IoT routers support VLAN isolation and built-in firewalls, and natively support industrial protocols such as Modbus and MQTT. They can work in conjunction with industrial switches and PoE switches to build a layered industrial network security architecture.
2.5 Compliance and Regulatory Failure Risk (including EN 18031)
Starting in 2024, the EU Radio Equipment Directive (RED) Delegated Regulation formally incorporated mandatory cybersecurity requirements, with EN 18031 as the core technical standard. This means that all networked industrial routers sold in the EU market must meet the security functional requirements specified by EN 18031 from August 1, 2025, or face a market ban.
At the same time, standards such as IEC 62443 (Security for Industrial Automation and Control Systems) and NIST SP 800-82 (Guide to Industrial Control Systems Security) also place explicit requirements on industrial routers.
Main consequences of compliance failure include: CE certification revocation preventing products from entering the EU market; fines of up to 2.5% of global annual turnover under the CRA regulation; greater legal liability and compensation exposure when security incidents occur; and reputational damage affecting customer trust and commercial contract renewals.
How IIoT Devices Can Meet Cybersecurity Compliance Requirements
Meeting industrial cybersecurity compliance requirements is not achieved overnight. It requires building a full-chain security system spanning product design, deployment configuration, operational management, and end-of-life.
3.1 Secure by Design Architecture
The Secure by Design principle requires security features to be incorporated from the product design stage rather than patched in afterwards. This aligns closely with the core philosophy of EN 18031 — the standard requires device manufacturers to ensure cybersecurity at the architectural level.
Key design requirements include: the minimum attack surface principle, meaning all non-essential ports and services (such as Telnet, FTP, SNMPv1/v2) are disabled by default; Secure Boot, which verifies firmware integrity through digital signatures to prevent malicious firmware injection; Hardware Root of Trust, using TPM or secure elements to store key material; and network segmentation capability based on IEC 62443-3-3 requirements, with built-in firewalls supporting mandatory OT/IT zone isolation.
Wavetel IoT's product design follows this philosophy. Its routers integrate multi-protocol communication, edge computing, and military-grade security capabilities. At the hardware level, they feature wide-temperature design (-30°C to 70°C), and at the software level, built-in firewalls, VPN, and encryption mechanisms reduce the security risk exposure of industrial environments from the ground up.
3.2 Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Access control is the first line of defense in industrial router security. EN 18031 explicitly requires devices to support multi-user, multi-privilege access control mechanisms to prevent unauthorized access and privilege abuse.
In practice, four typical roles are recommended: Super Administrator with full system configuration privileges (should be very few in number); Network Administrator responsible for routing/firewall/VPN configuration with no user management privileges; Security Auditor with read-only log access and no configuration privileges; and Read-Only User for field engineers to temporarily view device status.
Implementation points also include: enforcing default password change on first login (required by EN 18031); configuring password complexity policies and account lockout mechanisms; enabling MFA for remote management access; and integrating with enterprise LDAP/RADIUS for unified identity management. Wavetel IoT routers support Wi-Fi whitelist/blacklist access control and allow fine-grained privilege configuration through multiple management channels including Web GUI and SSH.
3.3 Encrypted Remote Management Mechanisms
Remote management is one of the most frequently exploited attack vectors for industrial routers. All management traffic must be protected by strong encryption, and plaintext protocols should be completely disabled. Specific requirements are: Web management interfaces must use HTTPS (TLS 1.2+) only, with HTTP disabled; command-line management allows only SSH v2, with Telnet disabled; remote VPN access uses IPsec IKEv2 or OpenVPN (AES-256, SHA-256); network device management protocols upgraded to SNMPv3 (with authentication and encryption), with SNMPv1/v2 disabled; and device certificate management supporting X.509 certificates with built-in PKI or enterprise CA integration.
Wavetel IoT's full product line natively supports IPsec, L2TP, OpenVPN, GRE, and WireGuard, covering mainstream industrial VPN deployment scenarios. They simultaneously support multiple secure management channels including Web GUI, SSH, SNMP, TR069, SMS, and RMS, providing flexible options for centralized secure operations of distributed industrial sites.
3.4 Continuous Monitoring and Log Auditing
Detection of security events depends on complete visibility. Both EN 18031 and IEC 62443 require industrial devices to have log generation and security event reporting capabilities to support centralized monitoring by Security Operations Centers (SOC).
Log and monitoring capability requirements cover: comprehensive logging (covering login events, configuration changes, system errors, and abnormal network connections); tamper-proof logs (supporting log signing or forwarding to external Syslog/SIEM servers); real-time alerting for high-risk events such as brute force attacks, abnormal traffic, and configuration changes; standard interface support for SIEM integration including Syslog (RFC 5424), SNMP Trap, and REST API; and traffic visibility through NetFlow/IPFIX or built-in deep packet inspection (DPI).
Wavetel IoT's RMS (Remote Management System) supports centralized monitoring and alerting on router status. Combined with SNMP and TR069 protocols, it can seamlessly integrate with existing enterprise network management platforms to achieve visualized lifecycle operations management of industrial routers.
3.5 Lifecycle Security Management
Device security must be maintained throughout the entire period of use. EN 18031 pays particular attention to secure update mechanisms and end-of-life handling, requiring vendors to provide secure firmware update mechanisms (supporting digital signature verification and rollback protection), a public Vulnerability Disclosure Policy (VDP), a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM), migration notices at least 12 months before end-of-service, and factory reset capability to completely clear sensitive configuration and key material before device retirement.
As an innovative company focused on IIoT terminal devices, Wavetel IoT maintains close collaboration with global technology and industry partners, continuously tracking CVE vulnerability developments and iterating firmware security versions to provide sustained security assurance for customers in energy, smart manufacturing, security, and environmental sectors.
Key Impact of EN 18031 on Industrial Routers
EN 18031 (formally ETSI EN 18031) is the harmonized standard supporting the cybersecurity requirements of Article 3.3 of the EU Radio Equipment Directive (RED), covering security baseline requirements for internet-connected radio equipment including industrial routers. The standard is divided into three parts; the most directly relevant to industrial routers are EN 18031-1 (general internet access devices) and EN 18031-3 (devices involving personal data processing).
Six core requirements:
Access Control (§6.1): Default generic passwords are prohibited; credentials must be changed on first use, preventing any device from being exposed to the network in a "zero-barrier" state.
Data Security (§6.2): Data in transit must be encrypted; TLS must be mandatorily enabled on management interfaces, ensuring data confidentiality and integrity.
Security Updates (§6.3): Devices must support a signed security update mechanism and notify users of available updates, preventing vulnerabilities from remaining unpatched for extended periods.
Minimum Functionality Principle (§6.4): Non-essential services are disabled by default; users can configure security parameters to reduce unnecessary attack surface.
Security Parameter Management (§6.5): Keys are stored encrypted; secure factory reset is supported to prevent sensitive information leakage.
Vulnerability Management (§6.6): A Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure (CVD) process must be established, providing security researchers with a clear reporting channel.
Compliance Timeline:
EU 2022/30 Regulation published: January 2022
EN 18031 standard officially released: August 2024
From August 1, 2025: Meeting EN 18031 becomes a mandatory prerequisite for CE certification of connected products including industrial routers
From 2026 onwards: EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) further strengthens requirements, covering the entire product lifecycle and making SBOM provision a mandatory obligation for manufacturers
EN 18031's Relationship with Other Frameworks: It is the mandatory regulatory baseline for the EU market. IEC 62443-4-2 provides more granular capability levels (SL1–SL4), suitable for deeper technical implementation. NIST SP 800-82 is more practice-oriented and applicable to the North American market. ISO/IEC 27001 is a macro management framework complementing device-level standards. The EU CRA extends EN 18031's scope to software and the entire lifecycle.
Security Capabilities Enterprises Should Prioritize When Selecting Industrial Routers
When procuring industrial routers, security capabilities should not be assessed solely based on vendor marketing materials, but verified through specific technical indicators and third-party certifications.
Authentication: Must support no default generic passwords, MFA, and account lockout policies; bonus points for certificate authentication and FIDO2/WebAuthn support.
Encryption: Must support TLS 1.2+ management interfaces, IPsec VPN, and SSHv2; bonus points for TLS 1.3 and quantum-safe algorithm readiness. Wavetel IoT's full product line natively supports IPsec, OpenVPN, WireGuard, and other mainstream encryption tunnels, meeting this core requirement.
Firmware Security: Must support Secure Boot and digitally signed firmware updates; bonus points for TPM support and runtime firmware integrity verification.
Network Isolation: Must support built-in firewall, VLAN, and OT/IT segmentation; bonus points for micro-segmentation, application-layer DPI, and traffic visualization. Wavetel IoT routers support coordination with industrial switches and PoE switches to build multi-layer network isolation architectures, suitable for industries with strict network segmentation requirements such as power, manufacturing, and rail transit.
Logging and Monitoring: Must support Syslog and login/configuration change logs; bonus points for SIEM integration, NetFlow/IPFIX, and SNMP Trap. Wavetel IoT supports SNMP, TR069, and RMS centralized management, compatible with mainstream SIEM platforms.
Vulnerability Management: Must provide regular security advisories and SBOM; bonus points for CVE database integration and automated vulnerability notifications.
Compliance Certification: Must hold EN 18031/CE certification; bonus points for IEC 62443 certification and CC EAL evaluation.
Lifecycle: Must have a clear EoL policy and secure factory reset; bonus points for an explicit security update support period commitment (e.g., 10 years). Wavetel IoT provides multi-channel remote firmware upgrades (RMS/TR069/SMS), supporting secure device updates without interrupting operations, reducing operations and maintenance costs in industrial environments.
Four additional points particularly worth noting: Require vendors to provide SBOM; search the NVD (nvd.nist.gov) for historical CVE records of the device model; require EN 18031 test reports issued by third-party testing bodies (such as TÜV or SGS) rather than relying solely on vendor self-declarations; and send a test vulnerability inquiry to the vendor's security team to directly assess their security maturity through response speed and professionalism.
FAQ
Q1: What is the relationship between EN 18031 and IEC 62443? Do both need to be satisfied simultaneously?
The two serve different purposes but are complementary. EN 18031 is a market access requirement for the EU market (at the regulatory level), focusing on basic device security functions. IEC 62443 is a more comprehensive industrial automation security system standard covering system design, operational processes, and supply chain security (at the technical level). For industrial routers sold in the EU, EN 18031 is mandatory; IEC 62443 certification is a competitive market advantage and a requirement in many industrial users' procurement specifications. Ideally, satisfying both simultaneously is recommended.
Q2: How can small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises meet industrial router security compliance requirements at low cost?
A prioritized strategy is recommended: First, immediately remediate high-risk items (change default passwords, disable Telnet/HTTP, enable firewall); second, replace with EN 18031-certified products in the next procurement cycle; third, use vendor-provided security configuration templates and centralized management platforms to reduce operational costs. Wavetel IoT's RMS remote management system supports batch security policy deployment and status monitoring for distributed site routers, which can significantly reduce the compliance management burden for small and medium enterprises.
Q3: Does an industrial router deployed on an internal network still need encryption?
Yes, internal network encryption is equally necessary. An internal network does not equate to a secure environment — insider threats, vendor remote access, and APT lateral movement can all launch man-in-the-middle attacks within an internal network. Best practices: even within an internal network, management traffic should be encrypted via HTTPS/SSH; encrypted tunnels (IPsec) should be deployed between critical OT subnets and enterprise networks; access to control devices such as PLCs should be conducted through encrypted jump servers.
Q4: How should legacy industrial routers that cannot be patched promptly be handled?
A Virtual Patching strategy is recommended: deploy an industrial firewall or intrusion prevention system (IPS) in front of the device, and use rules to block attack traffic targeting known vulnerabilities, reducing risk without modifying the device itself. A clear retirement plan should also be established, legacy devices should be placed in a strictly isolated network zone, direct access to OT core networks should be prohibited, and traffic monitoring on that network segment should be strengthened.
Q5: How important is SBOM to industrial router security?
SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) is a core tool for addressing supply chain security risks. Industrial routers typically integrate dozens or even hundreds of open-source components (such as OpenSSL, BusyBox, Linux kernel, etc.), and a vulnerability in any single component can affect device security. With an SBOM, security teams can immediately assess whether a device is affected when a new CVE is published, without waiting for vendor announcements. The EU CRA regulation has made SBOM provision a mandatory obligation for manufacturers, which will take full effect after 2026.
Conclusion
The security of industrial routers is not optional — it is the foundational infrastructure of industrial digital transformation. As regulations such as EN 18031 and the EU CRA are successively implemented, security compliance is shifting from a bonus to a prerequisite for market access.
For industrial enterprises, now is the critical window period for building systematic industrial cybersecurity capabilities. From selecting devices that meet security standards and establishing access control baselines to building continuous monitoring systems, every step lays the groundwork for the factory's long-term secure and compliant operations.
Wavetel IoT is deeply focused on the industrial IoT terminal device field. Its industrial router product line covering 4G/5G/5G RedCap (WR143, WR244, WR245, WR254, WR574, WR575, etc.) natively integrates VPN encryption, built-in firewalls, multi-protocol industrial communication (Modbus, MQTT), and RMS remote management capabilities, serving industry scenarios with stringent security and reliability requirements including energy, smart manufacturing, security, elevator monitoring, and ATM financial terminals. For inquiries on how to build an EN 18031-compliant industrial cybersecurity architecture based on Wavetel IoT products, please contact our engineering team and we will respond within 24 hours.
Action Checklist:
Immediately check the firmware versions of existing industrial routers and cross-reference known CVEs in the NVD database
Complete default password changes for all devices and disable plaintext management protocols such as Telnet and HTTP
Establish an industrial router asset inventory recording model, firmware version, installation location, and responsible person
Include EN 18031 certification as a hard threshold in the next procurement cycle and require vendors to provide SBOM
Plan OT/IT network segmentation upgrades to achieve logical isolation between industrial control networks and enterprise networks
Deploy a centralized log management system to ensure security events from industrial routers can be detected and responded to promptly
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