This article is more than 1 year old

Security hole found at CallNet 0800

Credit card registration system not safe

CallNet 0800 compromised the financial security of thousands of Net users last week after it admitted that its online registration system was not totally secure. Although the toll-free ISP maintains there was never a problem with its servers, it has revealed that the transaction process between the user and CallNet 0800 was not secure. The registration system that allowed people to register their credit card and personal details online went live last Wednesday and was only shut down this week. Net users need to register their credit card details with CallNet 0800 to take advantage of cut-price telephone calls. Keith Goodyear, VP of CallNet UK said the episode was an "oversight" by the company. The problem arose because the VeriSign digital certification system that would have secured the online transactions was not delivered on time, claimed Goodyear. CallNet is still waiting for the VeriSign certificate and has disconnected the online sign-up service until it arrives and is in place. "The chances of anyone's details being hacked [en route] are minimal," said Goodyear, adding that there had been no reports of any security breaches. But CallNet's apparent lackadaisical approach to security has angered some people. One reader, who asked not to be named, said he was so worried when he found out he intended to cancel his credit card just in case his security has been compromised. Elsewhere, Simon Lofthouse, a spokesman for Britain's first digital certification authority, Inter Clear Services, said: "At best this is careless, at worst negligent." While Lofthouse agreed with Goodyear that the chances of people's personal details being hacked were slim, he said it was simply too much of a risk to take. "Chances are they wouldn't get hit, but what if they had? It's not just their reputation that goes the drain, it is the whole industry [that has to carry the can]." ® Additional information: Click here for Inter Clear Services

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like