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Articles for Category Tag - Security

VoIP Provider Voipfone UK Knocked Out by DDoS Attack AGAIN UPDATE

26th October, 2021 (9 Comments)

Customers of Voipfone‘s UK broadband ISP and Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) service have signalled their frustration after the provider was knocked out yet again by a major Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) assault against their servers, which has been periodically impacting both them and Voip Unlimited since last month.

Ofcom Tell UK Phone Operators to Block Foreign VoIP Scam Calls UPDATE

25th October, 2021 (23 Comments)

The UK telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, has reportedly taken radical action to curb the plague of scam calls, which it is attempting to achieve by “ordering” major phone operators to automatically block any “suspicious” Voice-over-Internet (VoIP) calls that come from abroad if they pretend to come from numbers in the UK.

EE PhoneSmart Licence Tries to Educate Kids About Online Behaviour

21st October, 2021 (1 Comment)

Mobile operator EE today claims to have launched the UK’s first “phone licence” (PhoneSmart Licence), which is really just a free educational website that aims to teach young people about “how to stay safe and be kind online“, and it will also help parents and guardians with related knowledge.

Scam Calls and Texts Hit 45 Million UK People Over Summer UPDATE

20th October, 2021 (16 Comments)

The telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has estimated that 44.6 million UK people may have received scam calls and text messages during the past three months (summer period). But worryingly, around 2% of those who received such a message or call (roughly a million people) reported following the scammers’ instructions.

DDoS Attack Hits VoIP and Internet Provider VoIP Unlimited Again UPDATE2

8th October, 2021 (2 Comments)

Wireless UK broadband ISP and Voice-over-IP (VoIP) provider VoIP Unlimited has suffered connectivity problems again after being hit by a second “large scale” Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) assault, which began yesterday and follows a similar attack that occurred last month (here).

hand with fiber network cables connected to servers in a datacenter

BT to Build First Quantum-Secure Metro Fibre Network in London

5th October, 2021 (17 Comments)

UK ISP BT and partner Toshiba have today announced that they intend to build the “world’s first” quantum-secured metro fibre optic network between commercial sites in London, which will adopt ultra-secure communications via the use of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) encryption.

Apple’s Private Relay Service Creates Challenges for UK ISPs

5th October, 2021 (24 Comments)

Technology giant Apple recently released their iOS 15 software for iPad (15.5) and iPhones, which introduced a new feature called ‘iCloud Private Relay’ that “hides your IP address and browsing activity [when using Safari] so that no one – including Apple – can see [it].” Naturally, the UK Government and broadband ISPs have concerns.

High Energy Costs Risk Impact on UK Broadband and Mobile Prices

1st October, 2021 (22 Comments)

As the cost of gas spirals, inflation surges and most of us start to look at rises in our annual fuel bills, it’s sometimes easy to forget that such increases can also hit broadband ISPs and network operators too. Suffice to say, if the situation continues, then consumers could be in for a wider array of bill rises.

NETGEAR Broadband Routers Exposed to New Security Bug

22nd September, 2021 (0 Comments)

A large number of NETGEARs broadband and WiFi routers have been left vulnerable to a new Remote Code Execution (RCE) exploit, which works by allowing a hacker to manipulate the update process for each device’s Circle Smart Parental Control Service in order to gain control of the router.

Virgin Media Offer Plume WiFi Boosting Security to All UK Homes

20th September, 2021 (23 Comments)

Broadband ISP Virgin Media (VMO2) has today announced that they’re making Plume’s new HomePass smart home service available to all UK households (including those areas not yet covered by their network), which combines a WiFi 6 (802.11ax) based Mesh network boosting system with security features, such as Wi-Fi based motion detection.

Virgin Media O2 UK Still Suffers Router Bug that Exposes VPN IPs

18th September, 2021 (37 Comments)

Broadband ISP Virgin Media UK (VMO2) has confirmed to ISPreview.co.uk that they’ve yet to fix a long-running security issue in their HUB 3.0 routers (ARRIS TG2492), which among other things could be used to “silently unmask” the actual, ISP issued, IP address of Virtual Private Network (VPN) users.

Manufacturing BT Hollow Core Fibre Cable

BT UK Trials Quantum Key Distribution via Hollow Core Fibre Cable

13th September, 2021 (0 Comments)

Telecoms giant BT and Lumenisity, a spin-out from Southampton University, has taken two of their recent developments in the UK and today combined them in order to conduct the “world’s first” trial of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), a method of ultra-secure communications, over hollow core fibre optic cable.

smartphone with incoming call from unknown person

Gov Proposes Tougher UK Penalties for Nuisance Calls and Texts

9th September, 2021 (14 Comments)

The UK Government has today announced that their planned data reform, which covers a multitude of areas (many of which are outside our focus), will also set out plans to impose tougher penalties and fines for nuisance calls and text (SMS) messages. But it’s unclear how much impact this will actually have.

Study Warns Internet Fibre Optic Links at Risk from Huge Solar Storm

8th September, 2021 (17 Comments)

Once every 100 years or so our sun emits a massive Coronal Mass Ejection (CMEs) and these can be enough to cause damage to certain electrical systems, satellites and power grids etc. But a new study has also warned of an “internet apocalypse” because the next such event could knock out critical submarine fibre optic cables.

DDoS Attack Disrupts VoIP and Internet Services at Voipfone UK UPDATE3

1st September, 2021 (44 Comments)

Customers of both Voipfone’s UK business broadband and Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) services are reporting to ISPreview.co.uk that the provider has suffered significant service disruption for the past day or two, which appears to be at least partly the result of a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) assault against their systems.

Security Issues for Owners of BT’s Cloud Voice Handsets and Other IP Phones

14th August, 2021 (33 Comments)

Businesses that decide to sell their unwanted BT Cloud Voice handsets on eBay need to take extra care because some models, such as the Yealink W60P phones, may retain the prior customer’s account credentials. As a result, those who purchase them could find that they’re able to make calls on another person’s account.

Parliamentary Committee Starts Scrutinising UK Online Safety Bill

29th July, 2021 (2 Comments)

A new cross-party “super committee” has today begun to scrutinise the UK Government’s new Online Safety Bill (Online Harms), which aims to have Ofcom clampdown on “harmful” online content (e.g. hate speech, bullying, terrorism, conspiracy theories etc.), while precariously trying to balance that with freedom of speech.