Juniper has posted its own security bulletin on its customer-only support site, and noted in the advisory that "routers running vulnerable JUNOS software are susceptible regardless of the router's configuration. It is not possible to use firewall filters to protect vulnerable routers."
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based network manufacturer wasn't the only victim of its own bugs. Rival Cisco admitted Wednesday that its Internetwork Operating System (IOS) has a vulnerability in how it processes Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) packets. An attacker sending specially-crafted IPv6 packets to an affected Cisco device could force it to reboot, resulting in a denial of service.
Cisco's posted an advisory and a software update on its Web site for the vulnerability that Danish security firm Secunia rated as "moderately critical." The company ranked the Juniper bug the same.
In fact, Cisco has been plagued with multiple vulnerability issues of late, with four separate warnings posted on US-CERT since last Wednesday.
"Companies looking to implement best practices for vulnerability management should include procedures to deal with networking devices, as well as desktops and servers," added Gartner's Williams.
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
Amid ongoing regional uncertainties, telecom infrastructure in the Middle East has expand to include terrestrial low-latency network infrastructure, which offers resilience and agility in navigating political complexities without relying solely on undersea networks.
