Federal authorities might be investigating an act of "cyber-terrorism" on TelePacific Communications' network after the company suffered a major disruption last week that left many of its "SmartVoice" customers without the ability to make and receive calls.
The “unprecedented attack" on the network occurred March 24 and March 25, TelePacific President and CEO Dick Jalkut wrote in a letter dated Monday to his SmartVoice customers.
Los Angeles-based TelePacific has engaged the FBI's cyber attack division to attempt to identify the source of the attack, Jalkut said.
“This event, which has been determined to be a cyber-criminal act, was from an external source that circumvented the normal protocol and prevention methods recommended by our vendors Broadsoft and Acme Packet and followed by those in our industry, including TelePacific," Jalkut said.
Laura Eimiller, a spokesperson with the FBI in Los Angeles, said the agency cannot comment about specific cases.
But she said "the FBI reviews allegations and evidence of cyber crime when brought to its attention and initiates investigations where warranted."
The attack affected TelePacific’s “SmartVoice" service, an SIP (session initial protocol)-based offering that allocates bandwidth to voice traffic.
Jalkut said the “cyber attack choked our servers and resulted in a significant loss of service to customers – in most cases an inability to make and receive calls." But the attack did not impact customers' Internet or data services.
Jalkut said the company confirmed the attack was originating from an external source when the network suffered another attack on Friday, March 25. He said the company restored service that afternoon by implementing additional security configurations on its “session border controllers" that police traffic on the network.
Whether the attack on TelePacific's network actually constituted an act of cyber terrorism remains to be seen.
"In the absence of formal charges, it would generally be premature to characterize a computer intrusion as terroristic or criminal in nature," the FBI's Eimiller said.
Jalkut noted TelePacific plans to share information related to the events during upcoming industry forums.
TelePacific did not provide further comments on the investigation when asked by Channel Partners for additional information.
Federal authorities take cyber crimes very seriously. In a speech last year in San Francisco, FBI Director Robert Mueller said “a cyber attack could have the same impact as a well-placed bomb."
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