NSA Recommends Weekly Router Reboot to Cut Malware Risk

Overview

• German tech outlets surfaced an NSA home‑network guide that urges at least weekly restarts of routers, smartphones, and computers.
• The agency says some router infections do not survive a reboot, so restarting can flush non‑persistent malware that hijacks traffic without installing itself.
• Other authorities, including Germany’s BSI, and most router makers have not issued the same weekly‑restart advice, so the practice is not a common standard.
• Experts still rank core defenses higher, such as installing firmware updates, using strong unique passwords, enabling WPA2 or WPA3, turning off remote access and UPnP, using a guest network, checking connected devices, and replacing unsupported hardware.
• The focus on home routers follows recent actions against Russia‑linked APT28, which abused vulnerable TP‑Link devices, underscoring how a compromised gateway can expose every device on a home network.