Belkin International

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Belkin International, Inc.

logo
legal form Incorporated
founding 1983
Seat Playa Vista , United States
management Chet Pipkin
( President and CEO )
Number of employees 1,200 (2014)
Branch Hardware manufacturer
Website www.belkin.com

The Belkin International, Inc. is a manufacturer of computer hardware and computer peripherals , which refers to wireless devices as well as connecting hardware such as cables, USB hubs, network technology, as well as uninterruptible power supply has specialized.

The company is headquartered in Playa Vista, Los Angeles , California . Belkin sells to both consumers and the commercial business-to-business market.

history

Belkin headquarters in Playa Vista

The company was founded in 1983 in Hawthorne, California by the current President Chet Pipkin and has twice been included in the list of the 500 fastest growing companies of the “Inc. Magazine "listed. In 2011, Mark Reynoso stepped down as the company's President and CEO. In 2012, Belkin presented a new company logo at the Consumer Electronics Show. It should symbolize the strong commitment of the employees. In 2013, Belkin took over the Linksys home network division from Cisco .

  • first Belkin logo

  • Logo until January 9, 2012

  • Logo of the bought Linksys

Products

Belkin iPhone charging station
  • Network: Routers (e.g. the legendary WRT54G and its successor WRT1900AC), network cards, network cables, switches, audio cables
  • iPhone, iPad and iPod accessories: protective cases, FM transmitters, chargers, protective films
  • Energy-saving home accessories
  • Notebook and netbook accessories: protective covers, cushions, cushions, cooling pads, power supplies
  • Data center accessories: racks and enclosures, KVM switches
  • Overvoltage protection
  • USB hubs and other peripheral device connectivity, such as the Easy Transfer Cable
  • Home automation : WeMo range of products

Return to the SME market

In November 2013, Belkin announced that it would enter the small and medium-sized business (SMB) market by acquiring hardware manufacturer Linksys . Previously, Linksys had sold SMB infrastructure products for over 20 years and was a leading provider of switches and routers . The company has since launched numerous new devices for SMEs, including: a. unmanaged switches, unmanaged PoE switches, VPN routers, access points and surveillance cameras.

Belkin-Pro Cycling Team

In June 2013 Belkin International Inc. became the new main sponsor of the most successful Dutch cycling team. Since then, this has been the Belkin Pro Cycling Team . The company announced on June 17, 2014 that the sponsorship would end again at the end of 2014. Belkin wants to focus on the three brands Belkin, Linksys and WeMo and develop new strategies.

Shutdown of iSecurity + platform

At the beginning of May 2020, Belkin announced that it would shut down the iSecurity + platform, which is essential for the use of the Wemo Netcam surveillance cameras sold by Belkin, after seven years of operation on May 28, 2020. A reimbursement of the purchase price has been announced for customers who have purchased a corresponding device within two years before the platform was switched off; all other customers will not receive any compensation. The corresponding surveillance cameras can no longer be used after the platform has been switched off.

Linksys router backdoor problem

In January 2014, heise Security discovered that Linksys' routers and routers from other American router manufacturers have a built-in backdoor that allows both the Internet service provider and third parties to read and manipulate all of the router's configuration data via the Internet, including under among other things the passwords for the administrator access of the router, the WLAN , the DSL access, proxy server and DynDNS services as well as passwords and certificates for VPNs . Accordingly, this data can be read out and manipulated by an undocumented service that is integrated into the router software. In addition, it is possible to redirect and fully monitor all of the router's data traffic.

In response to this, the router manufacturer released a security update in March 2014 that was supposed to close the backdoor. The reverse engineer Eloi Vanderbeken found in an analysis, however, that the backdoor is still available at the manufacturer Netgear and that it had not been closed with the alleged security update, but merely better hidden and even expanded. From the latter, Vanderbeken as well as heise Security and other security researchers conclude that the backdoor discovered in January 2014 was intentionally installed.

In the case of Linksys, this vulnerability affected several older devices. At the time of discovery in January 2014, a total of eleven devices were affected by the security gap, nine of which have not been produced or sold since 2009. Two devices were still made. Comprehensive software updates were made available for these devices and another older model in March and May 2014 that fixed the vulnerability. Further patches are planned for the summer of the same year in order to offer the latest security software. According to the company, the vulnerability only existed for access from its own network, not for access via the Internet.

In retrospect, it became known that individual users in the Cisco support forum had pointed out signs of the identical backdoor at least since 2010. Based on some of the intelligence documents published by Edward Snowden as part of the espionage affair in 2013 , security researchers assume that the hidden backdoor was intentionally built in by Linksys and other router manufacturers to allow the security authorities full control and full access to the router at all times.

Awards

Belkin was named "Inner City Top 100" for six years in a row and "Fastest Growing Private Company" in the Los Angeles Business Journal for five years, and Belkin was named twice in the "500 Fastest Growing Private Companies" list in the USA ".

In 2007 Belkins TuneFM was named FM transmitter of the year at iLounge's Car Accessory of the Year Award . Belkins TuneBaseFM was also recognized in 2008.

  • more CES Innovations Awards:
    • 2009 "Best of" in Multi-Room Audio / Video Category: Flywire
    • 2008 "Best of" in Portable Media Accessories Category: TuneStudio
    • 2006 "Best of" in video category: Nostromo n52
    • IDSA Design Awards Ranking - Belkin ranked in top list of companies
    • 2010 IDEA Award in the Packaging & Graphics category: Silver - Belkin Conserve Surge with timer
    • 2010 IDEA Award Commercial & Industrial Products Category: BRONZE - Belkin Conserve Surge with timer
    • 2009 Idea Award: BRONZE - Belkin Powerline AV +
    • 2002 IDEE / BusinessWeek Award: GOLD - Belkin OmniView SoHo Series KVM
  • further iF Design Awards
    • 2007 Clamp-On Surge Protector, Compact Surge Protector, Conceal Surge Protector, Flip KVM
    • 2006 TuneBase and TuneBaseFM, MediaPilot
    • 2005 USB 7-Port Hub, PureAV Home Theater Power Consoles, PureAV Home Theater Power Conditioner
    • 2003 USB Media Reader Writer
    • 2005 Business 2.0 Bottom Line Design Awards - Belkin PureAV Power Console

Web links

Commons : Belkin  - collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.boersennews.de/nachrichten/artikel/belkin-gruender-chet-pipkin-uebernehmen-wieder-fuehrungsrolle-als-praesident-und-ceo/204377509
  2. ↑ a b Company overview . Retrieved June 11, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Article in Inc. Magazine, May 1, 2003
  4. ↑ http://www.belkin.com/pressroom/releases/uploads/CEO_090911.html
  5. ↑ http://www.belkin.com/pressroom/releases/uploads/011011_BelkinRebranding.html
  6. ↑ Article by Heise from March 18, 2013
  7. ↑ Belkin to end team sponsorship after 2014 season. Cycling News, June 17, 2014, accessed June 19, 2014 .
  8. ↑ Smart Home: Belkin turns surveillance cameras into electronic waste Report from the Internet information service Golem.de of May 11, 2020, accessed on May 11, 2020
  9. ↑ Jürgen Schmidt: Mysterious router backdoor: Many thousands of routers in Germany have a back door. heise.de, January 10, 2014, accessed on April 22, 2014 .
  10. ↑ Fabian Scherschel: Netgear closes the back door in the DGN1000 modem router. heise.de, April 7, 2014, accessed on April 22, 2014 .
  11. ↑ Ronald Eikenberg: Netgear update: Router backdoor just hidden? heise.de, April 22, 2014, accessed on April 22, 2014 .
  12. ↑ Eloi Vanderbeken: Another backdoor in my router: when Christmas is NOT enough! , April 18, 2014, accessed April 22, 2014.
  13. ↑ Linksys Support: Software update WAG320N. Linksys, accessed June 17, 2014 .
  14. ↑ User "DominikAu": Request from a user regarding the gap in the official Cisco support forum. supportforums.cisco.com, March 28, 2010, accessed April 23, 2014 .
  15. ↑ Benedikt Fuest: Router companies repaired data leakage only to appear. welt.de, April 21, 2014, accessed April 23, 2014 .