Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: Security (828 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - Security

Censorship and forbidden speech warning sign uk internet

DCMS Committee Finds Online Safety Bill Gets the Balance Wrong

24th January, 2022 (1 Comment)

A new cross-party UK report from the DCMS Select Committee has warned that the Government’s new Online Safety Bill (OSB), which will task Ofcom with tackling “harmful” content online, fails to get the balance right and “neither protects freedom of expression nor is it clear nor robust enough to tackle illegal and harmful online content.”

EE Staff Deny UK Mobile Network Blocks Apple’s Private Relay

13th January, 2022 (12 Comments)

Support agents working for mobile operator EE (BT) have denied claims by some UK customers (here and here), and online news reports (here, here and here), that their mobile broadband (4G and 5G) network is intentionally blocking Apple’s iCloud linked ‘Private Relay‘ feature (such a block may clash with Net Neutrality rules).

Vodafone UK’s New SMS Firewall Dramatically Cuts SCAM Texts

12th January, 2022 (9 Comments)

Mobile operator Vodafone UK reports that the introduction of their new SMS Firewall, which began at the start of September 2021 and works to both identify and block fraudulent text messages, resulted in the daily average volume of scam texts falling by an impressive 76% in December 2021 compared to May. In short, less SPAM for Christmas.

Security Flaw in NetUSB Hits Millions of Broadband and WiFi Routers

12th January, 2022 (2 Comments)

Security firm SentinelLabs has revealed a serious new vulnerability in KCodes NetUSB kernel module, which could enable hackers to remotely hijack various routers. Sadly, the flaw appears to affect millions of end user broadband and WiFi routers from major brands (e.g. NETGEAR, Edimax, D-Link, Tenda, TP-Link and Western Digital).

Parliamentary Committee Sets Out Plan for UK Internet Regulation

14th December, 2021 (24 Comments)

The Joint Committee on the controversial Draft Online Safety Bill (OSB), which was setup to help establish the regulatory framework to help Ofcom tackle “harmful” content online (e.g. hate speech, bullying, terrorism, conspiracy theories etc.), has today published its report. But the tougher rules and tighter offences may not all be workable.

Works to lay new paving slabs and temporary footpath closed red warning sign on London sidewalk by 123rf

New UK Law Set to Boost Broadband Rollouts and Device Security

24th November, 2021 (4 Comments)

The UK Government has today introduced their new Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill (PSTI), which among other things will make it easier for broadband and mobile operators to upgrade and share infrastructure. The bill will also aim to ensure that internet connected devices are more secure.

Sky Broadband UK Took 18 Months to Fix Router Security Flaws

19th November, 2021 (13 Comments)

Sky Broadband has been embarrassed this morning after Pen Test Partners revealed that it had taken the ISP a whopping 18-months to fix a serious security flaw in their consumer routers, which affected the vast majority of their UK customer base and could have enabled a hacker to compromise home networks.

Fiber Optic cables connected to an optic ports and Network cables connected to ethernet ports

Headaches for UK ISPs as Telecoms Security Bill to Become Law

9th November, 2021 (15 Comments)

The UK Government’s new Telecommunications (Security) Bill (TSB) is set to become law after passing through both houses of parliament this month, but it goes much further than just banning Huawei from the UK’s 5G mobile networks. Broadband ISPs, both big and small alike, also face a cacophony of tedious new rules.

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 by 123rf

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.