NBN Co boss Quigley slams misleading NBN hacking reports

Stan Beer
Thursday, 28 July 2011 13:28

Business IT - Security

The boss of NBN Co, Mike Quigley, has launched a broadside at news outlets who have published what he calls misleading stories about the recent hacking affair concerning NBN provider Platform Networks. NBN Co is concerned that reports have incorrectly portrayed the security breach as a vulnerability of the NBN itself.

The hacking incident involved the arrest yesterday of an unemployed truck driver by the Australian Federal Police who had allegedly hacked into the systems of ISP Platform Networks, which has signed on to become a provider of NBN services. Platform Networks has told iTWire that none of its systems were seriously compromised.

In a statement today, NBN Co was not afraid to reveal the names of what it considers the offending media outlets - and they were not all Murdoch owned publications either!

Even the highly venerated organ of the Federal Government the ABC copped a shellacking from the company charged with administering the National Broadband Network.

NBN Co referred to "a raft of provocative headlines over the past 24 hours such as'NBN hacking scandal' (Sky News), 'Self-taught hacker charged over NBN attack' (ABC), 'NBN hack charges' (Daily Telegraph, Sydney), 'Police arrest lone hacker after NBN system compromised' (Sydney Morning Herald) and 'More arrests to come over NBN hacking' (The
Australian)."

NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley said: 'The NBN was not hacked. It has not been compromised. It has not been placed at risk. NBN Co's security has not been breached.

'The incident yesterday related to a commercial customer of NBN Co that has not yet connected services over the NBN.

"Of course we take security seriously. We have controls and processes in place and are working with telcos, ISPs and the broader industry in security scenario planning.

'Nevertheless any suggestion that the NBN was hacked or could have been hacked in relation to this incident is entirely wrong.'