Home Network or Small Office (SOHO) Audit

Independent IT consultant / Small business owner / Advanced home user concerned about their network security.

Many users and small businesses believe that their home or office networks (SOHO - Small Office/Home Office) are adequately protected by simple router firewalls. However, with the growing number of "smart" devices (IoT), network storage (NAS), IP cameras, media servers and remote access, the risk of accidentally open ports and vulnerable services increases. Owners do not have tools for quick "external" network checking — the way a potential attacker would see it.

The client used ScaniteX to audit their public IP address (or addresses, if they had multiple connections). By selecting the "Your Network" option and specifying their public IP, the client launched scanning of the most common ports (22, 80, 443, 3389, 8080, etc.), as well as ports that could be used by their IoT devices.

• Discovery of hidden vulnerabilities: The client discovered that their IP camera, installed for remote monitoring, had an open port 8080 with a web interface accessible from the internet and was running on outdated firmware.
• Detection of unintended access: An accidentally opened Remote Desktop service (RDP) was discovered on the home computer, which was once used for temporary setup.
• Risk understanding: The obtained information helped the client understand which of their devices and services were accessible from the internet and what risks this posed.
• Taking corrective measures: The client was able to promptly close unnecessary ports on the router, update the IP camera firmware, and configure a more secure VPN for remote access instead of open RDP.