UK homes have been issued with an urgent broadband deadline and it’s not something you want to ignore. Sky has just confirmed that it is emailing some customers to offer them a vital Wi-Fi router upgrade which is aimed at future-proofing their connections. If you have Sky broadband beamed into your home it’s worth checking your inbox to see if the firm has been in touch.
The reason that it’s so important to check for updates is that some older routers will soon stop getting any upgrades from Sky. The changes will come into force next year and could leave those who haven’t moved to new equipment at a bigger risk of cyber issues.
Sky is offering a replacement hub free of charge and, once installed, that latest router will continue to get future security updates. However, if you want to take advantage you need to act fast.
This offer ends on June 3 meaning there’s less than a month to switch things up and keep your home secure.
This new incentive from Sky comes after the UK government published a security framework to ensure every telecom provider in the country follows the same set of guidance for their networks. The aim of this is to help protect consumers from cyber criminals and the constant threat of online attacks.
Under the new regime, manufacturers of devices will be banned from having weak, easily guessable default passwords along with suppliers having to be more open with consumers on the minimum time they can expect to receive important security updates.
That’s why Sky is now telling some customers they must update their routers to stay protected in the future.
“We’re always improving our network to enhance its reliability and security. Recently, the UK government has published a security framework to ensure every telecom provider in the country follows the same set of guidance for their networks,” Sky explained.
“You can claim a replacement hub that gets the latest service and security updates.”
Along with ordering a new router, Sky is also urging users to make a quick change to the settings. To help improve the security of current Wi-Fi routers already in homes, Sky says it’s a good idea to change the hub password.
“If you’ve never changed the administrator password on your hub before, you can make it more secure by updating it now. This password is different to your WiFi password,” the firm added.
Full details on how to switch passwords and change your router can be found here