Is Virgin Mobile a soft target for hackers?
Virgin Mobile: a soft target for hackers
With millions of subscribers, Virgin Mobile is one of the leading service providers in the U.S., and hackers would love to access the information of its subscribers at any cost. However, what is really shocking for subscribers to know is that Virgin Mobile’s security system is not very strong. According to a number of security experts, including Kevin Burke, it is really vulnerable.
Security experts have pointed out a number of issues that indicate that Virgin Mobile’s security system is not strong. First of all, they force the subscribers to register in the Virgin site with their mobile number only. Hence, it becomes quite obvious to hackers that they can track a subscriber with his or her mobile number. Virgin’s password system is also quite susceptible when it comes to security. For passwords, Virgin a subscriber can use a six digit code. If a hacker wants to hack your account, all he or she will need is your mobile number and a brute force hacking tool that will generate thousands of passwords until it gets the right one. There is also another security problem with Virgin Mobile’s firewall. Most secured websites block an account if there are more than five failed attempts to log in. However, in Virgin Mobile, there is no such system. So, a hacker will have thousands of opportunities to figure out your password by entering randomly generated passwords one after another.
Such a glitch in Virgin’s security is not only a great concern for the company itself but also for the subscriber. If someone is able to hack any Virgin Mobile subscriber’s account, he will get all call details, the history of all text messages and could also change or steal important settings and details. Although officials at Virgin Mobile have nothing to say at the moment regarding this, reliable sources say that the company will soon make some major changes in its security system to eliminate such risks.