Frontier Communications recovering from unknown cyberattack!
Frontier Communications provides fiber optic based gigabit Internet access to millions of consumers and businesses across 25 states. Frontier Communications said on Thursday that it’s ‘experiencing technical issues with our internal support platforms.’ Frontier’s mobile apps are also down, with the same warning message being displayed after launching the application. A company representative did not respond to questions about the situation.
The Texas-based telecommunications company reported a cyberattack to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday. Frontier said it detected unauthorized access to its IT systems on April 14th and began instituting “containment measures” that included “shutting down certain of the Company’s systems.” The shutdowns caused operational disruption that the company said “could be considered material.”
“Based on the Company’s investigation, it has determined that the third party was likely a cybercrime group, which gained access to, among other information, personally identifiable information,” the company said in the SEC filing.
“As of the date of this filing, the Company believes it has contained the incident and has restored its core information technology environment and is in the process of restoring normal business operations. Based on the company’s investigation, it has determined that the third party was likely a cybercrime group, which gained access to, among other information, personally identifiable information,” the company said.
Investigations into the incident are ongoing and they have hired cybersecurity experts to help with the incident. Law enforcement agencies have been notified.
Despite saying that the shutdowns could be considered material, Frontier later wrote that it “does not believe the incident is reasonably likely to materially impact the Company’s financial condition or results of operations.”
According to Leichtman Research Group, Frontier is the seventh largest broadband Internet supplier in the US, with almost 3 million customers. The company’s copper and fiber network stretches across large portions of the East and West Coasts.
Light Reading reported on Thursday of warnings from Frontier. “We’re experiencing technical issues with our internal support platforms,” said a message on the company’s website homepage. “Our residential and business networks are not affected by this issue. In the meantime, please call for assistance.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Last week, AT&T reported that more than 51 million people were affected by a recently-disclosed data breach that included troves of customer information including Social Security numbers, AT&T account numbers and AT&T passcodes.
EchoStar’s Dish Network last year reported a “cybersecurity incident” that impacted its ability to install services, take payments and provide customer care for several weeks.
Fierce reported this week about an intentional cable cut in AT&T’s network that interrupted services at Sacramento Airport.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) updated its data breach rules for the first time in 16 years in December, expanding regulations on how telecommunication companies report cybersecurity incidents. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel argued that the rules the agency created more than 15 years ago are no longer compatible with a modern world where telecommunication carriers have access to a “treasure trove of data about who we are, where we have traveled, and who we have talked to.”
References:
https://therecord.media/telecom-giant-frontier-cyberattack-sec
https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/20520/000119312524100764/d784189d8k.htm
https://www.lightreading.com/security/frontier-we-were-probably-hacked