BSNL has landed in hot water after it announced that a section of its broadband system had been hit by a malware attack. The assault apparently occurred earlier this week and has affected about 2000 modems across India.
It seems the malware attack targeted customers who had not changed their broadband modem’s default password ‘admin.’ The malicious software managed to change their passwords, preventing them from logging in and accessing the internet.
BSNL Chairman Anupam Shrivastava told PTI that the situation has been addressed to a great extent. It is now asking consumers to change their password immediately. Shrivastava is assuring them that they should not be worried about using their broadband once this has been done.
He also went on to emphasize that the assault ha not impacted the telecom operator’s core network, billing, or any other system. BSNL’s call centers have supposedly been reaching out to users since the attack occurred earlier this week, alerting them to the matter and advising them about precautionary steps.
Neither he nor BSNL have stated who was behind the assault. Malware has come under close scrutiny in recent times thanks to a spate of ransomware attacks which blackmailed people into paying a certain amount of money in exchange for gaining access to their locked-up computer.
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BSNL’s malware problem doesn’t appear to be on the same scale as that, but it could have adversely affected a victim’s safety. In any case, the incident should serve as a reminder that it’s always a good idea to have a strong password for all logins.