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NBN reassures public over hacking threat

AFP allege the man hacked into Platform Networks, a contract service provider for the NBN

The company responsible for rolling out the National Broadband Network (NBN) has moved to reassure the public the network has not been affected by an alleged hacking of a service provider.

A 25-year-old unemployed Cowra truck driver has been charged with 49 hacking offences on Wednesday following a six-month investigation.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) allege the man hacked into Platform Networks, one of the contracted service providers for the NBN.

A spokesman for NBN Co Limited said Platform Networks was not yet offering services over the NBN.

"NBN Co has evaluated its systems and controls and can confirm the national broadband network was not affected by this incident," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

A tip-off about attacks into a university and Melbourne company websites alerted police to the alleged hacking, AFP assistant commissioner, Neil Gaughan, said.

This sparked a six-month investigation in which Platform Networks and police worked together to monitor the alleged hacker's activities.

"(The culprit) was basically in a position where he was mapping (Platform Networks') infrastructure," Gaughan told ABC Radio.

"Potentially, any customers of Platform Networks could have lost their services for a period of time, if not indefinitely, depending on the security back-up they had in place."

Platform Networks managing director David Hooton said the systems that were being hacked were monitored at all times and there was no issue in relation to customers' privacy.

"From our perspective, yes we were aware that he was in control of those individual systems, but the actual criticality of those systems to our network was actually fairly insubstantial," he told ABC Radio.

He would not comment on the company's future defence against hacking, saying that was a matter of "operational security".

Police said the accused hacker allegedly spent up to 20 hours a day online and was keen to highlight his activities.

"He was bragging quite broadly in the internet community that he was actually inside this company," Gaughan said.

The Cowra man has been charged with one count of unauthorised modification of data to cause impairment, and 48 counts of unauthorised access to, or modification of, restricted data.

He is due to appear in Orange Local Court on Wednesday.

The first charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' jail while the second count carries a maximum sentence of two years.

The AFP said it was likely further charges would follow.

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More about: ABC, ABC, Australian Federal Police, etwork, Federal Police, Orange
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