What is the SNMP Vulnerability Alert from Virgin Media?

You may have recently received a letter and/or email from Virgin Media explaining that we have been notified that a device on your network has a vulnerability known as a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). If you have received such a communication from us, please follow the advice given on this page to resolve the issue.

 
 

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is a method by which a device can be managed remotely on the network. An SNMP vulnerability is a security issue whereby a 3rd party can use this protocol to ultimately gain unauthorised access to your network/devices for malicious purposes, if the protocol is configured incorrectly.

What has happened?
We work with a number of not-for-profit organisations across the banking industry and security sectors that collate information on devices across the Internet that appear to be compromised or misconfigured.

We suspect a device connected to your home network may have a SNMP vulnerability.

If the settings are left open they can be exploited to unwittingly participate in malicious activities, for example a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack.

Want to fix the issue?

We're here to help and if you have a basic knowledge of computers and connected devices there are a number of steps you can take to secure your mailbox and home network. Please apply these steps in order:

1. Stop SNMP Traffic

Apple routers
To configure Apple routers to stop SNMP please visit the following sites:

discussions.apple.com/thread/2793508 **
support.apple.com/kb/TA21032?locale=en_GB&viewlocale=en_US **
discussions.apple.com/thread/6451613?start=0&tstart=0 **

2. Disable SNMP on Windows 7

To configure Windows 7 to stop SNMP please visit the following site:

faq.rutgers.edu/?q=node/701 **

How do I know I'm now safe?

If you have followed the above advice you can be confident that you have resolved the issue.

Where can I find further information and advice?

For further advice of SNMP and securing your device please visit the below websites:

techrepublic.com/article/lock-it-down-dont-allow-snmp-to-compromise-network-security/**

cert.org/historical/tech_tips/snmp_faq.cfm**

** These links to external sites are provided as a courtesy and we are not responsible for the content of these sites or any problems encountered whilst applying these steps and we are not able to provide any technical support for such problems.

If you have any further questions you can email us at aup@virginmedia.ie