Security Risk to Home Routers with weak password

 

Customer security is a top-priority for Verizon. We were recently made aware of a potential security risk to many popular models of home routers, especially routers that are not protected by a strong password. We are currently reviewing administrative password security for the routers that Verizon provides to consumers and small and medium businesses as a part of our FiOS and High Speed Internet services

 

 

If you received an email suggesting that you change the administrative password for your router to something that is not a default or generic password, for further information, if you are a FiOS customer, please click HERE and if you are an HSI customer, please click HERE.

IMPORTANT: From time to time, individuals send out emails pretending to be Verizon for the purposes of gathering passwords and other personal information. This is also called Phishing.

 

Verizon will not send you any emails on this issue with a weblink that requests your password information or other sensitive data. The weblinks we include in emails concerning this issue will only connect to additional sites where further information and updates may be found. If you receive an email that purports to be from Verizon on this security issue and it contains links that, when "clicked," ask for personal information or password data, you should not provide that information.

Phishing
Phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging, and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one.