Networking

Users of Asustor Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices are being warned of potential Deadbolt ransomware infections after dozens of people took to Reddit and other message boards to complain of attacks. Asustor Marketing Manager Jack Lu told ZDNet that the company is “going to release a recovery firmware for support engineers today for users whose NAS is hacked so they can use their NAS again.” 

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“However, encrypted files can not be recovered unless users have backups,” Lu added. Asustor released a warning on Wednesday that the Deadbolt ransomware was being used in attacks affecting Asustor devices. It announced that the myasustor.com DDNS service will be disabled while the issue is investigated.The company recommends users change default ports, including the default NAS web access ports of 8000 and 8001 as well as remote web access ports of 80 and 443. Users should also Disable EZ Connect, make immediate backups, and turn off Terminal/SSH and SFTP services.Asustor also provided a more detailed guide for users in need of more help. If you have already been hit by Deadbolt ransomware, you should unplug the Ethernet network cable and shut down your NAS by pressing and holding the power button for three seconds.Users are urged to fill out this form and make sure not to initialize their NAS because it will erase their data.The New Zealand CERT released its own lengthy warnings about Deadbolt this week, writing that vulnerabilities in QNAP and Asustor NAS devices are being actively exploited to deploy ransomware. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency declined to comment.QNAP released its own Deadbolt guidance last month and took several controversial measures to limit the spread of the ransomware. CERT NZ said users should follow the guidance provided by both companies about how to protect their devices. But it noted that both are “being actively targeted by attackers intending to deploy ransomware.”It said QNAP NAS devices that are internet exposed and running QTS and QuTS operating systems, or add-ons with the following versions, are affected:QTS 5.0.0.1891 build 20211221 and laterQTS 4.5.4.1892 build 20211223 and laterQuTS hero h5.0.0.1892 build 20211222 and laterQuTS hero h4.5.4.1892 build 20211223 and laterQuTScloud c5.0.0.1919 build 20220119 and laterAffected Asustor devices that are internet exposed and running ADM operating systems include the AS5104T, AS5304T, AS6404T, AS7004T, AS5202T, AS6302T, and AS1104T models. 

Users have reported seeing the same ransom messages that were deployed last month when QNAP devices were hit. The Deadbolt ransomware group demanded 0.03 bitcoins (BTC) in exchange for the decryption key. In another note to Asustor, the ransomware group offers to provide the company with information about the alleged zero-day vulnerability they used to attack in exchange for 7.5 BTC. The group is also offering a master decryption key for 50 BTC, worth $1.9 million. For QNAP, the group demanded a payment of 5 BTC in exchange for details about the alleged zero-day and 50 BTC for a universal decryption master key.As users wait for the firmware to be released, some are warning users to make a backup of the locked files. QNAP’s firmware removed the ransom note that is needed to get and use the decryption key. Both the decryption tools from Deadbolt and security company Emsisoft require the original ransom note. It is unclear how many Asustor users are affected by the ransomware. Censys reported last month that of the 130,000 QNAP NAS devices that were potential targets, 4,988 “exhibited the telltale signs of this specific piece of ransomware.”Censys later told ZDNet that the number of exposed and infected devices was around 3,927.  More

Singtel has unveiled plans to dish out at least SG$2 billion ($1.49 billion) to redevelop its global headquarters. Located along Singapore’s Orchard Road shopping strip, the new site is pitched as a smart building that will showcase sustainable workspace designs for the telco’s employees and future tenants. Called Comcentre, the building has sat on its current plot since 1979 and occupies an area of 19,252 square metres. The planned redevelopment is estimated to cost at least SG$2 billion ($1.49 billion), including land costs, Singtel said in a statement Wednesday. The Singapore telco said it would divest ownership of the building as part of its “capital recycling strategy” to a joint venture to be formed with an appointed estate developer. Singtel would hold a majority stake in the joint venture. 

It added that it was in the process of confirming the developer from a shortlist of two. The tender process would close next month, with a decision to be made in May, according to Singtel.  The telco said it would be the anchor tenant of the new development, taking up some 30% of the space. The rest would be leased out to tenants seeking offices in the area, providing additional recurring income for Singtel in the long term, it said. Slated for completion by end-2028, the redeveloped site is expected to span a gross floor area of more than 110,000 square metres comprising office buildings, and a retail component. It also will comprise Singtel’s  Orchard Exchange, which currently hosts telecommunications infrastructure. The telco said it had secured in-principal approval from Singapore Land Authority to extend its lease on all lots within Comcentre to 2089. 

The office buildings on the redeveloped site would feature “more open and digital” areas that facilitate a collaborative environment and provide tenants with “optimised hybrid workspaces”, Singtel said.  Singtel Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon said: “We’re truly excited to be working with the authorities to rejuvenate the Orchard Road precinct to prepare for the post-pandemic world and reinvigorate our future workplaces… Maximising the unique development potential of Comcentre will significantly enhance its value in a vicinity where Grade A office developments are in short supply. We strive to optimise the capital we can unlock from existing assets to fund our growth initiatives, including 5G and the regional expansion of our data centre business.”The new Comcentre will cater to our evolving business needs and showcase the digital workplace of the future featuring 5G solutions… The redevelopment of our headquarters also supports our vision to build a greener and sustainable future, and will further facilitate our efforts to reach net zero for our own operations,” Yuen said. Preparation for the redevelopment would begin in 2024, when employees would move to temporary spaces at Singtel’s other premises across Singapore. The telco last year kickstarted a business transformation it dubbed a “strategic reset”. Two other local telcos StarHub and M1 also made similar moves and all three companies saw leadership changes in recent years. StarHub’s Nikhil Eapen took on the CEO role in December 2020, after a months-long search, while Yuen assumed his current role in January last year and M1 CEO Manjot Singh Mann took over the helm in December 2018.In a separate announcement Tuesday, Singtel launched a new orchestration platform for 5G edge computing and cloud services. Dubbed Paragon, the new offering was touted to allow enterprise customers to tap the telco’s 5G network on-demand and roll out mission-critical applications on its MEC (Multi-access Edge Compute) infrastructure. Customers also would be able to access applications offered by Singtel’s partners as well as deploy them in a hybrid environment, comprising Singtel’s edge and a public cloud platform. “Many enterprises are undergoing rapid digitalisation while exploring and developing tailored 5G solutions for deployment in their industries,” said Singtel’s enterprise group CEO Bill Chang. “We understand the challenges and complexities they face in managing the various networks, edge cloud applications, and services with the required cybersecurity, resiliency, and demanding service assurances required, cost-effectively. Paragon was conceived, developed, and delivered to help enterprises meet these needs through a single platform.”RELATED COVERAGE More

Generally speaking, if you want really fast internet, your best choice has been 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps). There have been a handful of places, such as Chattanooga, Tenn., with faster internet. But for the most part, you are out of luck. That’s no longer the case. Frontier, a national Internet Service Provider (ISP), is now bringing 2 Gbps broadband to all its fiber customers. While Frontier is best known for its rural DSL internet service, the company has been expanding its fiber network. Frontier’s 2 Gbps service will be available to approximately 4 million customers in 19 states as part of its launch. This 2 Gbps service is symmetrical; this means you’ll get 2 Gbps speeds both up and down. 

So, what kind of speed does that give you in real-world terms? Well, you can download Fortnite, which comes in at 10GBs, in about two minutes. Or you download a Blu-ray episode of Game of Thrones in 90 seconds. Or, in my case, I can download Linus’s Linux kernel in less time than it takes to read this sentence. Don’t think you need that kind of speed? Think again. Frontier claims that even an average home they service now has 17 connected devices, which has more than doubled over the last few years. With more and more people working from home, we need all the broadband we can get.Also: Here’s how 2022 will bring us faster internetFrontier’s not the only one that offers multi-Gbps speeds. AT&T, Google Fiber, Verizon Fios, Xfinity, and Ziply Fiber also offer this level of performance, but none of them offer it over their entire network like Frontier.”The last two years have fundamentally shifted how we use the internet and what customers expect from their connectivity partner,” said John Harrobin, Frontier’s EVP of Consumer. “Powered by thousands of miles of fiber, we are stepping up our game to bring unmatched 2-Gig speeds to our entire fiber footprint and change the way customers experience the internet at home.”

Also: The best 5G home internet: Your broadband optionsThis new 2 Gbps offer also comes with Frontier’s Total Home Wi-Fi Guarantee. This means the Frontier’s 2 Gbps router supports today’s fastest Wi-Fi standard: Wi-Fi 6e. With this technology, you’ll get an honest 1 Gbps wireless connection to your devices.  The service also includes unlimited data, a voice line, tech support, and free multi-device security. There’s also no activation fee or contract requirements. This service will cost $150 a month for 2 Gbps. Other speeds, 1 Gbps and 500 Megabit per second (Mbps), are available at lower prices.Also: 10-Gigabit internet: Coming to your home and office within the decadeSome of you may be thinking, “Frontier? Aren’t they that second-rate ISP?” Yes, there was a time not that long ago when Frontier was a troubled ISP. For years, Frontier had been known for over-promising and under-delivering on its internet services. This led to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2020. Frontier President and CEO Nick Jeffery came aboard Frontier after years as Vodafone UK CEO to turn around the company. Frontier came out of bankruptcy in May 2021 with Jeffrey leading the way and promising that it would double its fiber investment. This is the company delivering on that promise. For this speed and price, I’d give them another chance

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A new study published by Incisiv and funded by Verizon found that retailers are struggling to find ways to ease in-store network congestion and support booming mobile device use among both customers and employees.Incisiv’s 2022 Connected Retail Experience Study found that only 22% of grocery and general merchandise retailers are satisfied with the digital connectivity available to customers and employees in their brick and mortar locations. This number rose as high as 55% for specialty and department stores, but that still left almost half struggling with issues surrounding the availability and reliability of in-store connections. The survey discovered that the situation is likely to become even more pressing over the next 12-24 months, with 93% of retailers expecting increases in overall (customer and employee) mobile device usage within their stores by the beginning of 2025, while 83% specifically plan to grow their own use of networked in-store technology, like IoT (Internet of Things) devices. Retailers’ growing networking demands are expected to be driven, in large part, by in-store processes like inventory management. Respondents told Incisiv that the percentage of associated, automated tasks that rely on connected technology will triple by 2025, from 19%, currently, to 62% in less than three years. The multi-pronged increase in demand doesn’t bode well for in-store networks if the expansions aren’t made to capacity.Only 20% of grocery and general merchandise retail managers, and 32% of their specialty and department store counterparts, are currently satisfied with the existing connectivity and networking options for customers and sales associates during peak usage times. This means the vast majority of both retail categories are already feeling friction brought on by current network constraints, without future growth being taken into account. Also: After COVID-19, what happens to the grocery store industry?

Among all of the aforementioned factors, the Verizon-sponsored study found that an expected increase in demand driven by growing numbers of customer-owned devices was the number one driver of expected 5G adoption across surveyed retailers. This was followed by a similar expectation of growing connected device use by store staff for tasks such as real-time inventory tracking. 5G is also expected to play a major role in enabling Wi-fi deployments for additional in-store tasks that require associates to stay connected at all times. Whether 5G or terrestrial broadband serves as the ultimate source of connectivity, the survey makes it clear that the retail space’s need for increased network capacity may even exceed the ongoing global explosion being seen across most carrier networks.

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Image: Dell Technologies
Dell Technologies and Marvell have launched a solution aimed to address current performance challenges of Open RAN deployment in virtualised distributed unit environments.Speaking with ZDNet, Dell Technologies Asia Pacific and Japan head of telecom Sam Saba explained the Open RAN Accelerator Card has been designed to bring the performance of traditional RAN solution to Open RAN.”[There’s] this gap of performance and energy consumption. Effectively, we believe now this card will bridge that performance,” he said.”The way we’re doing this is through what we call the layer 1 offload. With that, we’re looking at taking all that layer 1 processing out of the standard CPU that sits in the server, which occupies 60-70% of overall processing capacity … and putting it in a PCIe card in line into the virtual distributed unit close to the base station … in doing that we’re effectively relieving, or releasing, a lot of the capacity in the standard processing card to do more processing.”Saba added the card also features PTP syncing to enable various parts of a telco network to be synchronised, eliminating the need for additional modules to orchestrate the synchronisation. Additionally, Dell has introduced its Telecom Multi-Cloud Foundation featuring Bare Metal Orchestrator modules designed to help telecommunications service providers (CSPs) integrate Dell’s hardware with cloud support software platforms, including RedHat, VMWare, and Wind River.Dell claims the Multi-Cloud Foundation is touted to help CSPs reduce operating expenses by 39% and improve total cost of ownership by 32%.

“[This is] primarily due to savings in time spent on testing and certification, manual processes, provisioning, integration, software updates, as well as planning and engineering. This where we see the primary source of reduction,” Saba said.To support Dell’s plan to set up a 5G Innovation Lab at its Round Rock headquarters in Texas, Dell has developed its OTEL solution integration platform to allow partners and operators to connect their own 5G lab with Dell’s.”We give them a lot more flexibility, rather than having to invest in different configurations in their own labs; we can do that for them, as we can give them a lot more flexibility to be able to test these different variants of solutions,” Saba said.Dell has also brought a new product called ProDeploy for NFVI to help accelerate the disaggregation of virtualised telecom networks. Further, to assist CSPs deliver enterprise services on 5G, the company has also launched the Dell Services Edge 1.2 to bring together edge compute resources with private wireless connectivity.”What we’re talking about here now is laying the groundwork for operators to be able to start to use the mobile network to deliver enterprise services,” Saba said. The tech giant first flagged its foray into the telecom space during Dell World in May, before it announced a slew of hardware and software to build out its cloud-native telecom ecosystem.According to Saba, these latest announcements is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to bolster its position in the global telecom sector.”We need to build up the capability … this is what we’re doing. This is why we’re bringing out all these solutions but also, we’ve been ramping up in the last year with more than 1,000 people, like myself, who have come from the telco industry,” he said.”We’re already engaged with some of the biggest aggregated network, so the likes of Vodafone in the UK … so we’re on track to bring out the performance and show proof of what we’re doing and that we’re very serious.” Related Coverage More

Image: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Among a bevy of telco results on Tuesday morning, the standouts were Superloop and Uniti Group seeing significant contributions from the pair’s recent acquisitions. For Superloop, it was the AU$100 million addition of Exetel that impacted its results, with revenue for the first-half to December 31 up 125% to AU$120 million with operating expenses increasing 84% to AU$30.5 million. This gave the telco an underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of AU$9.1 million, up 12%, but once AU$3.2 million in transaction costs from buying Exetel and selling its Hong Kong business and parts of its Singapore business as well as a AU$2.7 million EBITDA hit from those businesses were accounted for, the telco was left with statutory EBITDA of AU$3.2 million, a drop of 44%. For its bottom line, the telco closed its net loss by 28% to end at AU$18.5 million in the hole for the half. Superloop said its consumer broadband subscribers had more than tripled to 155,000 and revenue rocketed from AU$14.7 million to AU$59 million for the half, while business revenue grew 180% to AU$35.7 million and wholesale saw 13% growth to AU$18 million in revenue. “Fundamentally, Superloop now has a simpler, more focused business, and a greater strategic focus on growth. It is particularly pleasing that the growth across all segments demonstrates the true strength and diversification of the Superloop business model,” CEO Paul Tyler said. “Whilst we have seen some solid contribution of the Exetel network synergies to be realised from the acquisition during the first half, we are looking to a greater contribution in the second half.”

See also: How Vodafone Australia changed its 5G plans after the Huawei banFor Uniti Group, the results follow its purchases of Opticomm and Telstra Velocity, which it spent the past year integrating. The results were a 98% jump in revenue to AU$110 million, a 355% spike in EBITDA to AU$65.8 million, and an increase in net profit from AU$3.9 million to AU$29 million. “Well over 90% of our earnings are now generated from high margin, recurring, annuity revenues which are delivered predominantly on our owned super-fast FttP networks, and this ratio will continue to expand as our contracted FttP order book of nearly 300,000 premises deploys over the years ahead,” Uniti managing director and CEO Michael Simmons said. “With integration and simplification largely completed in 2021, Uniti is now primed for continued organic growth in greenfields and adjacent property markets and inorganic growth through asset acquisitions aligned to our core infrastructure business.” Elsewhere in the telco space, following its acquisition spree, Swoop saw revenue increase 62% to just shy of AU$24 million, and EBITDA almost tripled to AU$3.8 million, as it closed its net loss by 11% to posting being down by AU$2.86 million for the half to December 31. The company saw its connections number grow 47% to 37,500, consisting of 25,700 residential services, 5,750 business services, and a tripling in wholesale connections to 6,000. Continuing its streak of EBITDA growth, Macquarie Telecom saw a 4% increase in revenue to AU$149 million, an 11% increase in EBITDA to AU$40.5 million, and a 48% drop in net profit to AU$3.7 million that was due to increased capital expenditure. The telco recently said it would spend AU$78 million to build out its 32-megawatt Intellicentre 3 Super West facility. While MacTel’s cloud services and government, and data centre arms tracked as having 25% and 8.4% EBITDA growth over the past two years respectively, its telecom arm has been contracting at a rate of 3.4% over the past three years. “Telecom revenue and EBITDA will continue to be affected by COVID lockdowns, which is partially offset by demand for new technologies including SD-WAN,” the company said. Related Coverage More

Image: Chorus
Chorus had a solid first half to the 2022 financial year, with profit, revenue, and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) seeing increases across the board. Net profit after tax rose 55% year-on-year to NZ$42 million, operating revenue increased by NZ$6 million to NZ$483 million, while EBITDA jumped from NZ$326 million to NZ$347 million. As Chorus continues transitioning away from copper-based services, fibre broadband once again took up a larger share of the telco’s total revenue when compared to years prior by chipping in NZ$267 million. Fibre broadband now accounts for 55% of the telco’s revenue, an increase of 7 percentage points compared to the same period in the year prior. After fibre broadband, copper-based broadband contributed NZ$80 million, while fibre premium, copper-based voice, and field services all provided around NZ$30 million in revenue for the half year.Providing an update on the telco’s Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) rollout, Chorus CEO JB Rousselot said his telco only has to connect 30,000 more premises to complete the fibre network. So far, 1.3 million premises are eligible for UFB, with 67% of those premises — 918,000 — connected to the network as of the end of 2021. The 67% connectivity rate is a 2 percentage point increase since June, which amounted to 47,000 new fibre broadband connections in that six-month period. “The continued growth in fibre demand is testament to the reliability fibre broadband is delivering through the challenges of the ongoing COVID pandemic,” Rousselot said.

For the rest of the 2022 financial year, Chorus has also raised its EBITDA guidance to NZ$665-685 million due to a $9 million holiday pay provision that was released in December. The New Zealand telco added its expected capital expenditure range for the remainder of the year has dropped from NZ$550-590 million to NZ$520-560 million.Beyond Chorus, other telecommunications movements across the Australia-New Zealand region include Field Solutions Holdings announcing it will use Nokia and Mavenir equipment for its new network build. The rural telecommunications provider is currently in the process of delivering 19 new place-based networks across Australia. These networks, comprising over 100 sites, will be 4G and 5G capable, and are set to be delivered by the 2024 financial year.Digital services provider Webcentral, meanwhile, reported its half-year loss was cut by almost AU$9 million to AU$2.3 million. Inching closer to being in the black, the company attributed the improved performance to revenue for the six months to December 2021 increasing by 25% to AU$48 million.In light of the increased revenue, provided by higher cloud and domains demand, Webcentral said its EBITDA of the half of AU$7.1 million outperformed the guidance it set out last year.It wasn’t all good news for WebCentral, as hardware sales and service delivery decreased by almost 50% year-on-year during the first half of FY22 due to COVID-19. The company said it expected to bounce back in this area for the second half as restrictions continue to ease across Australia.RELATED COVERAGE More

Image: Aussie Broadband
Aussie Broadband has reported its revenue for the first half of FY22 continued the company’s upward trajectory, rising by almost 50% year-on-year to AU$229 million. The sharp revenue increase led to Aussie Broadband seeing an after-tax profit of AU$1.39 million, with the company’s revenue once again closing the gap on its expenses. By comparison, the company’s first-half performance in the previous financial year culminated in an almost AU$10.5 million loss. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for the half year was AU$9.1 million, an increase of 7% compared to the same period a year ago.On the connections front, the company said it had just shy of 495,000 broadband connections and 32,000 mobile connections at the end of 2021, representing 45% and 70% year-on-year jumps, respectively. The broadband connections comprised of 422,034 residential connections, 45,483 business connections, and 27,286 wholesale connections.The company’s migration of white label services also began during the first half of FY22, with 8,725 services being transferred during the period. The remainder of the services are expected to be migrated by the end of March, Aussie Broadband said. Aussie Broadband added its market share for NBN broadband, excluding satellite, reached 5.66% at the end of 2021. Six months prior, the company’s NBN market share had sat at 4.9%.With the growth in connections, Aussie Broadband also increased its staff count, which rose 29% year-on-year to 733.

“It’s been another year of growth for Aussie, and I am extremely proud of the work the whole team has put in to create some great half-year results,” said Phil Britt, Aussie managing director. Looking ahead to the remainder of the financial year, Britt said he expected another 85,000 to 95,000 broadband connections to be added to its customer base, and full-year EBITDA to be in the range of AU$27-30 million. Britt also provided an update on its pending acquisition of Over the Wire, saying the deal was on track to be completed next month following Australian Securities and Investments Commission and Federal Court approval.  Related Coverage More