About 200 of Cisco Systems’ (CSCO – Get Report) routers were infected with malware, greater than the company’s initial findings, Fortune reported on Monday afternoon.
Previously, findings showed that only 14 of Cisco’s routers were infected across four different securities, according to cyber security company FireEye, who published a report on the infection on September 15.
Cisco said that in August, it alerted customers to the break-in and that the hack was not the fault of its own software but rather due to the attackers gaining valid credentials or gaining physical access to the routers, according to Reuters.
The most recent findings show that hackers installed malware on Cisco’s routers in 31 countries, according to the security research group Shadowserver Foundation. Out of the 200 total infected routers, 65 of them are located in the U.S.
Called SYNfull Knock, the malware is dangerous as hackers are able to steal company data, Fortune noted.
However, there are no reports of company data being stolen. Cisco Systems and Shadowserver Foundation are currently working together to see how severe the infections are on its routers.
Shares of Cisco are up by 0.24% to $25.20 in mid-morning trading on Wednesday.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates CISCO SYSTEMS INC as a Buy with a ratings score of A. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:
“We rate CISCO SYSTEMS INC (CSCO) a BUY. This is based on the convergence of positive investment measures, which should help this stock outperform the majority of stocks that we rate. The company’s strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, notable return on equity, attractive valuation levels and increase in net income. Although no company is perfect, currently we do not see any significant weaknesses which are likely to detract from the generally positive outlook. ”
Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:
- The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 11.8%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 3.9%. This growth in revenue appears to have trickled down to the company’s bottom line, improving the earnings per share.
- The current debt-to-equity ratio, 0.42, is low and is below the industry average, implying that there has been successful management of debt levels. Along with this, the company maintains a quick ratio of 2.97, which clearly demonstrates the ability to cover short-term cash needs.
- The return on equity has improved slightly when compared to the same quarter one year prior. This can be construed as a modest strength in the organization. Compared to other companies in the Communications Equipment industry and the overall market, CISCO SYSTEMS INC’s return on equity exceeds that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
- The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has exceeded that of the S&P 500 and greatly outperformed compared to the Communications Equipment industry average. The net income increased by 3.1% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, going from $2,249.00 million to $2,320.00 million.
- You can view the full analysis from the report here: CSCO
Source: The Street