How do I protect my edpnet telephony against phone hacking
What is phone hacking?
There are different forms of phone hacking and it is becoming widespread nowadays. By phone hacking we mean the abuse of your telephone account for the purpose of making expensive calls which results in unexpectedly high telephone charges for you.
What can edpnet do to protect my edpnet telephony against hacking?
There are certain measures which you can take together with edpnet to protect your edpnet telephony against hacking:
- Block calls to VAS-numbers
The option calls to VAS-numbers is by default disabled for your edpnet telephony account. You can always make a request in my edpnet to enable this option, but in case your edpnet telephony is hacked, it may result in high telephone charges which you will have to pay.
- Block calls to international numbers
The option calls to international numbers is by default enabled for your edpnet telephony account. In case your edpnet telephony is hacked, it may result in high telephone charges which you will have pay. You can disable this option yourself in my edpnet.
- Set a monthly limit for your edpnet telephone number
By default a monthly blocking limit is set at €250 for every edpnet telephone number. When your call charges reach €200, you receive a warning from edpnet. You can make a request to set a lower / higher limit for your edpnet telephone number based on how often you call and how high your monthly telephone bill is. Setting a monthly limit you obtain a guarantee that your monthly telephone bill won’t be higher than the limit amount.
What can I do myself to protect my edpnet telephony against hacking?
As your edpnet telephony account is configured on your modem, it is important that nobody can access the interface of your device without your consent.
- Change the default password of your modem
Every modem has a default password (e.g., 1234, admin, etc.) which can be easily found in any manual on the Internet. If you set up your own secure password, it will not be easy to log in to your device.
- Disable Remote Management / Remote Administration
Remote Management / Remote Administration is a certain configuration of your modem which allows you / edpnet helpdesk / your system administrator to take full control of your device remotely. In the meanwhile, experienced abusers can also access your modem this way unless this configuration is disabled.
- Set up WPA/WPA2 for your wireless network
WPA/WPA2 are two security protocols and security certification programs developed to secure wireless computer networks. They provide data encryption and require user’s authentication which makes your Wi-Fi network secure. It is strongly recommended to protect your Wi-Fi access with one of these protocols.
- Ensure your modem firmware is up-to-date
Every newer version of firmware is always an improvement over the previous firmware package. Releasing new firmware updates manufacturers take care of fixing existing bugs, correcting device issues and adding new features which can also include extra security measures. It is easier for abusers to find out how to hack devices with older firmware versions, the features of which are already well-known. Moreover, regularly updating the firmware keeps your device performing optimally.
What should I do if my telephony already got hacked?
Unfortunately, once your telephony got hacked, there is no way to undo the calls which were made and the charges will remain for you to pay. Still there are measures which you should take immediately to avoid this kind of situations in future:
- Report hacking to police
- Contact our helpdesk: we will help you to avoid hacking in future based on the recommendations given above.
More information about phone hacking you can find on the website of the Belgian Government and the Centre for Cyber Security Belgium: https://www.safeonweb.be.
