NBN service provider 'hacked'

The national broadband network (NBN) was not affected by the alleged hacking of a service provider, a spokesman for NBN Co Limited says.

A 25-year-old 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.

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," the spokesman for the company responsible for rolling out the network said in a statement.

"The company said to have been involved is not yet offering services over the NBN.

"NBN Co works closely with appropriate law enforcement and government agencies to ensure the security and protection of the national broadband network. We welcome the AFP's ongoing efforts in fighting cybercrime."

In June, Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigators found a compromise to Platform Networks.

Platform Networks co-operated fully with the AFP during the investigation, working with officers to monitor the alleged offender's illegal activities inside their network.

'UNEMPLOYED TRUCK DRIVER'

The ABC reports the man may have bypassed network firewalls in order to map the IT network's infrastructure. It says he may also have been in a position to damage websites hosted by the company.

AFP Assistant Commissioner, Neil Gaughan, told the Sydney Morning Herald that the man, who used the online moniker of 'Evil', had 'basically taken over their system...if he wished to, he could have actually taken down the whole [of Platform's] network.'

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