DOT India Asks ISPs To Adopt New Cyber Security Measures Including Securing Home ADSL And Broadband

Router and modems insecurity is a major cause of concern for governments around the world. Cyber criminals are targeting routers and modems used by home users’ for a broadband connection. In most of the case the routers and modems come with standard login and password credential for practical reasons and convenience. The manufacturers of routers and modems expect the end user to change their login credentials and password. However, a majority of home users do not change such crucial information and this make the routers and modems vulnerable to various cyber attacks.

Amid growing threats of cyber attacks and hacking of websites, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has prescribed the security measures to be adopted in ADSL Modems to safeguard against misuse (PDF). These security measures must be adhered to by internet service providers (ISPs) of India within 60 days of the formulation of these measures. This is asking too little from the ISPs as there are other major telecom security issues in India that are still not redressed properly. The truth is that Indian telecom networks are highly vulnerable to cyber security threats.

DoT has noted that crackers have been exploiting vulnerabilities in the asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) modems. The ADSL modems are usually installed by broadband service providers at homes and offices. DoT has written to all ISPs to “assist customers to change the password, including by physical visits”. It has also come out with a new set of guidelines for ISPs that must be implemented by May 2014 to ensure security of almost 1.5 crore fixed-line broadband users.

The ADSL modems are presently supplied by vendors with default set up of user ID and password as “admin’. The default password needs to be changed to a strong password by customer at the time of installation of modem to avoid unauthorised access to modem. The ISP executive visiting customer for installation of modem should ensure this.

The protocol ports in ADSL modem on WAN side [for example, FTP, TELNET, SSH, HTTP, SNMP, CWMP, UPnP] be disabled. These ports may be used by the hackers to enter into the ADSL modem to misuse/compromise the ADSL modems by way of implanting the malware, changing the DNS entries in the modem.

In other instructions, the ISPs have been asked to devise a “mechanism to upgrade the firmware of the ADSL modems remotely by ISPs”. For this, the ISPs need to have separate login password, which is not possible in the present system of ADSL modem design. The DoT has asked the ISPs to tell their customers to check their online daily usage, and if any unexpected high usage of data is noticed, they may bring it to the notice of the ISP concerned. Customers should also be advised to switch off their modem when not in use. Readers of this blog may see the document (PDF) for a detailed analysis.