According to researchers from Indiana University, more than 20,000 WiFi routers in New York City could be attacked by viruses within a two-week period. The researchers say that this swift attack could happen by guessing administrative passwords since routers are typically installed out of the box insecurely. Criminals could then install new firmware that would pass a virus along to other devices in the router's range. Since WiFi networks tend to be closely connected in urban areas, the attack could quickly spread from router to router for many miles.
For more about the research from Indiana University:
- read this article from IDG News Service