Eircom knew of modem problems since March
Eircom knew of the vulnerability of wireless modem routers since March of this year, it has emerged.
The company was contacted by a Kildare-based software engineer to alert them to the possible risk to their customers
Peter McShane bought one of the company’s routers after noticing that several wireless networks within range of his parents home had a unique eight-digit name.
Using that 8-digit network name he was able to access any of the Eircom networks himself without using the network key provided by Eircom when modem products are purchased.
The modems affected are the Netopia 3300 and 2247.
Eircom’s head of communications Paul Bradley has confirmed that the company were made aware of the issue six months ago, and had entered into talks with Mr McShane in a bid to discover what actions could be taken by Eircom to resolve them.
"In the interim we have been putting in place the processes to address that," said Mr Bradley.
Frustrated by the slow pace the company was progressing, McShane contacted Comreg, the communications regulator in September
Motorola, which now owns Netopia, released a short statement yesterday saying it was working with Eircom to enhance security on the products and directed customers to the Eircom support website.
The problem may extend not only to Eircom's Netopia routers but also to other providers using the same product.
Yesterday Eircom said that AT&T, the largest telecom provider in the US, and Covad, a specialist broadband company, are also "using the same method of security".
Eircom have also said that e-mails and letters will be sent to all customers who have bought these models of wireless router modems to inform them of what needs to be done, and stressed once more, that the issue is still a "potential security problem" as no Eircom customers have reported anyone else using their networks.
