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The Telecom Digest for August 08, 2011
Volume 30 : Issue 198 : "text" Format
====== 29 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== |
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Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2011 17:39:37 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: AT&T increases voice mail security
Message-ID: <p06240867ca63628bd4ec@[10.0.1.4]>
AT&T increases voice mail security
Password meant to deter hackers
By Hiawatha Bray
Globe Staff / August 6, 2011
AT&T Inc. is changing the default method by which cellular customers
check their voice mail, after reports that the company's policies
made messages more vulnerable to hackers than on other cellphone
carriers.
The giant telecommunications company said yesterday it will start
requiring users to enter a password to access their voice mails from
their own cellphones. Until now, AT&T users calling from their own
phones would immediately get access to their voice mails without
entering a password.
...
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2011/08/06/att_increases_voice_mail_security/
Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2011 22:46:00 +0100
From: Graham <me@invalid.telecom-digest.org>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: AT&T increases voice mail security
Message-ID: <j1n12u$7pf$1@profound-observation.eternal-september.org>
"Monty Solomon" <monty@roscom.com> wrote in message news:p06240867ca63628bd4ec@[10.0.1.4]...
> AT&T increases voice mail security
> Password meant to deter hackers
>
> By Hiawatha Bray
> Globe Staff / August 6, 2011
>
> AT&T Inc. is changing the default method by which cellular customers
> check their voice mail, after reports that the company's policies
> made messages more vulnerable to hackers than on other cellphone
> carriers.
>
> The giant telecommunications company said yesterday it will start
> requiring users to enter a password to access their voice mails from
> their own cellphones. Until now, AT&T users calling from their own
> phones would immediately get access to their voice mails without
> entering a password.
>
> ...
>
> http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2011/08/06/att_increases_voice_mail_security/
This is very interesting because it's the first time I have seen in
print (as it were) that the News International voicemail intercepts
were achieved by using the "handset's own CLI" exploit rather than
guessing at the PIN.
I have been saying on the UK telecom newsgroups since the story broke,
that this is a likely scenario.
None of the UK mobile networks have issued guidance to the general
public about activating PIN protection for voicemail retrieval *from
the actual handset*, and they certainly haven't imposed this as the
default condition.
--
Graham.
%Profound_observation%
Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2011 17:39:37 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Hospital reports a possible data loss
Message-ID: <p06240869ca63643b3a17@[10.0.1.4]>
Hospital reports a possible data loss
Doctor misplaced drive that had held patient records
By Liz Kowalczyk
Globe Staff / August 6, 2011
A doctor who works at Brigham and Women's and Faulkner hospitals lost
an external hard drive in June, and the computer device may have
contained medical information for 638 patients, the hospitals said
yesterday.
...
Information related to inpatient hospital stays from July 10, 2009,
to Jan. 28, 2011, may have been on the device, including patient
names, medical record numbers, dates of admission, medications, and
information about diagnosis and treatment. The device did not contain
Social Security numbers, insurance numbers, or other financial
account information.
...
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/08/06/hospital_reports_a_possible_data_loss/
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