Vodacom has recently launched a new Mobile Internet system which promises to \u201cenhance the display of websites on a cellphone through technology that adapts the computer-screen format of any website into a smaller, cellphone-friendly format.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company came under fire from consumers and the South African chapter of the Internet Society, saying that it \u2018broke\u2019 many websites which used to function perfectly on a mobile device.<\/p>\n
Vodacom appears to have made portions of the Internet unavailable to users according to the Internet Society \u2013 something which obviously did not sit well with mobile Internet users.<\/p>\n
Security concerns<\/strong><\/p>\n Internet Solutions (IS) is the latest organization to criticize Vodacom\u2019s new mobile surfing platform, raising concerns about potential security issues which may dog the system.<\/p>\n \u201cThe recent proxy server, implemented by Vodacom in order to provide their new \u2018Content Adaption\u2019 service and to better render websites on small screen devices, has inadvertently created a serious security issue,\u201d IS said.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the unintended results have given rise to serious privacy concerns amongst consumers and corporate customers alike.\u201d<\/p>\n Brett Steingo, General Manager of Mobility Solutions at Internet Solutions (IS) explains:<\/p>\n \u201cSince all traffic is routed first through their proxy server, sites requiring login information result in your password being intercepted and reformatted. Clients logging in, for example to webmail, have their passwords captured in plain text and forwarded on. In the event of a failure, this password is being re-directed to a Google search page in plain text.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Internet Solutions some basic testing by its staff shows how any user can replicate this fault. \u201cTo see for yourself, browse to an Exchange Outsourced Web Access \/ Webmail site from your cell phone using http:\/\/webmail.your.site.domain\/ and not https:\/\/,\u201d IS said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe page that’s asking for your username and password will look something like this: \u201cIf you fill in your Username and Password (use a fake one!), in some cases both entries are sent as an unsecured search query to Google. You can get around this by going directly to the \u201chttps\u201d version of the site \u2013 the site will work, but your password still gets redirected and sent to Google as a search request.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cClients are also reporting the inability to use a variety of applications over this platform and VLive APNs since the implementation of Content Adaption,\u201d says Steingo. \u201cIS clients using the IS Internet APNs (mobile.is.co.za and vpn.is.co.za) remain unaffected.\u201d<\/p>\n Vodacom unfortunately did not provide any official feedback about the problems and security concerns by the time of publication.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/owafe083.vodacommi.co.za\/webmail.your.site.domain\/\u00a0 This is NOT secure.\u201d<\/p>\n