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Cisco is the leader in routing and switching devices, but they aren’t without their problems. Routers need to be secured with several different configurations so as to best ensure a network is not vulnerable to outside attack. How to configure the Cisco router becomes the task, and with what commands is the problem.

There are several commands in which are used to secure a router in terms of passwords. Cisco announced that one in particular, “Enable password,” has become outdated and vulnerable to security risk. This is because the command uses no encryption to store passwords, and this can lead to hackers finding passwords out and retrieving them with ease.

For those who favor encryption, and we all should, computer network technicians should instead opt for the enable secret command. Enable secret is a command introduced in more recent years for storing the password required to get into privileged mode in encryption. This encryption comes in handy in several cases, with notable benefit to be seen in the running configuration.

Gaining access to a Cisco router’s running configuration is easy. Use the running configuration command to bring up the currently stored settings of the router. If both enable password and enable secret were used, administrators can see that enable password is readable for all to see! The enable secret password that comes after it is unreadable, as it is stored as an MD5 encrypted text.

In the end, network administrators will receive much benefit from shielding the running configuration of a Cisco router from hackers and other malicious users. Even small bits of help here and there in network security can mean a large difference in how the network maintains itself in the long run, so be sure to upgrade to the latest IOS and make use of the new password command Cisco offers.

Final Thoughts

Network security is a big industry. Regardless of the thousands of dollars businesses use to propel their business, the smallest of commands such as enable secret and enable password will do a world of good for the network as a whole. Be sure to read more on the subject in Cisco documentation and online networking resources to get the full effect on how to use, maintain, and prepare Cisco routers for security topics.

Tags: Computer Security

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