A spokesman for the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) said today (13 November 2020) that OFCA noticed potential security risks in the voice mailboxes of some of Hutchison Telephone Company Limited’s mobile customers and had immediately contacted the telecommunications operator for follow-up.
According to the telecommunications operator, there are customers who activated voice mailboxes before November 2016 but did not change the default passwords. As the default passwords for these customers’ voice mailboxes were less secure, their voice mailboxes might possibly be accessed by others or used for making unauthorised outgoing calls.
The spokesman said that once aware of the above problem, OFCA immediately alerted the telecommunications operator and requested it to follow up. The company has already taken steps to change the default passwords of the relevant customers, suspend the function of making outgoing telephone calls via the voice mailbox system, and inform the affected customers of the actions taken. Customers are advised to contact the company for assistance if they have any questions.
In light of the incident, OFCA reminds telephone services customers to properly manage their passwords for access to their voice mailboxes. They should change the default passwords the first time they log in and use more secure passwords. Furthermore, the passwords should be changed regularly. If telephone services customers receive suspicious phone calls, they should stay alert and verify the calls.
Office of the Communications Authority
13 November 2020