(How) can a modem spy on you? (self.privacy)

submitted 3 months ago by quantenzitrone to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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I'm planning to buy a router and modem and put OpenWrt on it for maximum control and privacy. While I could get a router with an integrated DSL modem, the previous tenants had cable internet so I'm not sure if the DSL connection even works and DSL internet is also more expensive (at least where I live). Fiber optic is not available. The problem is, there is apparently no open firmware for cable modems so I would have to buy a standalone router and a standalone cable modem. I would put OpenWrt on the router and use whatever proprietary firmware came with the modem.

So my question is:
Can a standalone modem that doesn't do routing, spy on you?
If yes a rough explanation how would be appreciated.

It seems that modem and router are used interchangeably on the internet (probably because they are mostly combined) so it is really hard to find any information on modems. Here are both Wikipedia articles for reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modem
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Router_(computing)

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[-] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago

I don't think ive heard about any privacy issues regarding modems. They convert your data into the Level 1 format so that it can be moved to the next hop. There isn't really anything to spy on, and its very hardware dependent (hence no open source software that can standardize across each device). There might be open source modems out there, but your ISP probably doesn't support them.

this post was submitted on 06 Sep 2024

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