 10-24-2006, 09:39 PM | #1 (permalink) |
| Admin  | PABX hackers rack up $9000 phone bill An Australian company has discovered that airtight server security is not always enough after hackers broke into its telephone system and racked up a AU$9000 bill within a week. The company's IT manager and finance director told ZDNet Australia that hackers broke into the firm's Nortel PABX system and used its call-forwarding functions to run up the huge bill. The manager, who would only speak anonymously, admitted that despite good security on their server and network, the one piece of equipment no one really knew anything about was the PABX system, which just happened to be one of the most expensive. "Over a one-week period there were an enormous amount of calls made - there were two and three-hour calls made to the Arab Emirates, Somalia, and other countries in Africa and South America," he told the website. He said the company left some unused features on its PABX enabled, which most likely made the hack relatively easy. He advised other companies with a PABX to arrange a security audit, ensure they know exactly what services are enabled and to change their passwords regularly. He said the cost of the experience was about eight times the company's normal monthly phone bill. "I thought international calls were relatively cheap these days, but when you call the Arab Emirates for three hours it is not cheap." __________________ -=Welcome to PBXInfo=- -Become a PBXInfo Supporter -Get more PM Space, Profile Picture, a Signature -Add yourself to Pbxinfo's Frappr -Find Nortel Software |
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| 11-19-2006, 07:02 AM | #2 (permalink) | |
| Moderator  | Quote:
__________________ Life is a highway.... | |
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| 11-19-2006, 01:20 PM | #3 (permalink) |
| Moderator  | That may be what was being talked about but not necessarily. This has been a common form of telephone fraud for decades and the usual destination has always been that area of the world. Families are very large there and when you get a chance to make a free phone call to all your relatives, why not? Avaya offers a service that they guarantee this will not happen if you follow their advice. Most companies don't though because a couple of the features that need to be disabled is call forwarding out of the PBX and trunk to trunk transfer. __________________ Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup. Marty |
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| 11-20-2006, 08:43 AM | #4 (permalink) | |||||||||
| Junior Member  
Rep Power: 6  | Quote:
__________________ Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're still here we may as well dance. | |||||||||
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| 11-22-2006, 08:36 AM | #6 (permalink) | |||||||||
| Junior Member
Rep Power: 6 | Quote:
dad and mum1, mum2, mum3, mum4, etc. __________________ Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're still here we may as well dance. | |||||||||
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| 11-25-2006, 08:19 AM | #8 (permalink) |
| Moderator | to all who posted above: My English is NOT so good to express what I raelly wanted to say, but I must tell you this: the whole issue is about " ...a more than 3 hours telephone call made to the UAE..." and below is your opinions quoted exactly: ITEngineer "Probably about the amount of time it takes to figure out who they are going to terrorize next..... I don't want to lump all the middle eastern people together but here in the backwoods if it looks like, smells like and walks like a skunk, it most likely is......" MSYoung : "This has been a common form of telephone fraud for decades and the usual destination has always been that area of the world. Families are very large there and when you get a chance to make a free phone call to all your relatives, why not?" rwhite : So true. With, say, 55 brothers & sisters just think how long it takes to catch up on 'all the doings' JulianW : With 55 brothers and sisters I'd say mum and dad have been doing overtime! rwhite : "I think a typical configuration goes something like- dad and mum1, mum2, mum3, mum4, etc." JulianW : "Ok then, dad has been doing overtime and must have some very good earplugs!" ************* I only want you to think a little and answer to my below questions: what made you all sure that a middle eastern has committed that crime !!!!!!! that area is full of people having relatives not only in Australia but also in all over the world... Couldn't you find out someone else to blame for such criminal acts ???? my best wishes to all of you. Last edited by AbuSuhail : 11-25-2006 at 08:23 AM. |
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| 11-25-2006, 12:54 PM | #9 (permalink) | ||||||||
| Moderator 
Location: Pittsfield, MA Rep Power: 5 | AbuSuhail is correct. You can draw only one conclusion from a three hour phone call. We do not know the race of the callers despite the terminating destination. The one conclusion I am quite sure of is the gender of a person making a three hour phone call...FEMALE! | ||||||||
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