About a thousand hackers have allegedly reconfigured the older cable modems of Virgin Media in order to gain access to the 50Mbps super-fast broadband service of the broadband giant, according to reports. The hackers have achieved this by using an augmented version of the advanced DOCSIS standard to update the firmware on the ISPs older devices. The all important DOCSIS standard was partly smuggled from the 50Mbps modems of Virgin media.
Reports further states that Virgin Media recognised the problem when it sensed out some of its users enjoying download speeds of up to 30Mbps that very much exceeded the speeds of the package they had signed up to. Later, in a statement Virgin Media said that they were clearly upset, and are on the way to prosecute the wrongdoers. They claimed that they were possessing certain tools that can trace out fraudulent modems, as well as service profiles on their network, apart from numerous technological features that could aid them in addressing successfully, the menace of fraudulent activity.
As a matter of fact, the new generation server side modems of Virgin Media are also capable to trace out and ward off modified user modems. According to the rules, modification of any of such hardware with a view to gain access to services fraudulently also amounts to an illegal act that can call for fine or even a jail term. However, it is not clear yet if Virgin Media has managed to prosecute anyone.
25-03-2009
