VietNamNet Bridge – Subscribers to FPT Telecom in Binh Duong province complained in mid-November about lack of internet access, saying that their modems’ SSID (service set identifier) had been changed and replaced by the word Chinahacker or other words.

FPT Telecom, one of the country’s largest telecom companies, admitted that trouble had occurred with many of its modems due to security holes exploited by hackers. The modems affected were those with two antennas and with the colors orange and white.

FPT said the trouble interrupted the internet connection only, and that hackers could not steal information.

In mid-November the company said it had found the scope of influence and that it would contact customers and fix the problem. It worked with a partner to fix the modem firmware’s flaws and prevent new attacks.

On November 15, FPT Telecom said the problem with hijacked modems was fixed and no complaints had been received.

However, many FPT Telecom customers on November 21 complained that the problem had not been settled.

Buu Dien’s reporters checked the modem of an FPT Telecom’s subscriber, also an administrator of a forum on November 17-21, and found that it still had the same problem.

A senior executive of BKAV, a leading internet security firm, said it was dangerous for hackers to attack firmware, hijack and control users’ modems.

Hackers can easily drive internet users to certain addresses for bad purposes. More seriously, even though hackers cannot access users’ computers, they can get all the information users exchange via the internet.

Meanwhile, SecurityDaily, a security team, has discovered serious flaws in modem router TP-LINK, believing that these could be the reasons behind the internet disconnection occurring with some FPT Telecom subscribers.

SecurityDaily believes a serious hole exists in the TP-LINK system, which was found and made public in early 2014.

It said that updating the firmware had not been enough to stop the problem, and that modem suppliers need to check the devices to find flaws, backdoors and malware before distribution.

Buu Dien