Mobile phone companies take voicemail security 'very seriously'

Following the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, mobile phone operators have been quick to say that security procedures for anyone wanting to access their voicemail remotely have been tightened.

Mobile network operator T-Mobile told us that it took voicemail security "very seriously" and that its security systems were regularly reviewed.

Vodafone said that it had put in place "additional measures" in 2006 which were specifically designed to protect against "unlawful intrusions".

The allegations that the voicemail of murder victim Milly Dowler had been hacked, and possibly those of other bereaved families, have caused public outrage.

There are believed to be two ways the voicemails were hacked in the past. One was by guessing a person's voicemail Pin. Few people bothered to change these default codes, so they were easy to guess.

It has also been alleged that phone company employees may have been bribed to leak customer information such as Pins and account details.

The use of a default Pin has now been dropped and people create their own password. This does mean this form of hacking is still possible if a person chooses a common or weak password however.

T-Mobile told us that customers were now given a "full voicemail services tutorial". The company said it encouraged customers to "set-up a ‘high-strength' password" while also advising against "easily guessable numbers".

Vodafone said it had "launched a thorough investigation" when phone-hacking allegations were originally made in 2006.

The company also added that it had not found any evidence that "any employees were involved in any wrongdoing", should any new evidence emerge, it would "investigate immediately".

When asked if remote access to voicemail accounts should be abolished altogether, a T-Mobile spokesperson told Computeractive: "T-Mobile feels that the service is still valued by customers who use it, and don't have any plans to stop offering the service."

Read more on our blog: How easy is it to hack a mobile phone voicemail?