[BlueRidgePro]

I was a long time Dish customer. 1 Hopper and 3 Joeys. I lost satellite reception 3 days ago. I’ve called Dish support 3 times, only to get a recording that they are too busy and to call back later. Not even the option to hold. The web site was not functioning, so no help there.

I’ve been tempted to try YouTube TV, but never bothered as Dish worked for me. However, after the last attempt at reaching support, I signed up for YouTube TV, Easy to do, it took 5 minutes. As a result, I’ve now got more channels on 3 Firesticks and 1 Roku for about half of the cost. No contract.

I’d have stayed with Dish, continuing to pay more, if only they would have answered the phone and given me some customer service...

 

[harsh]

I’d have stayed with Dish, continuing to pay more, if only they would have answered the phone and given me some customer service...

DISH suffered a ransomware attack that took out its phone systems, billing systems and most of its websites. It was hopefully an anomaly.

Jumping for better customer service probably isn't going to be a win in the long run but anyone who is sticking with just to be sticking with is probably not getting the best bang for their buck.

 

[BlueRidgePro]

No excuse for not answering the phones. If I were the Dish CEO, I'd be in the office answering phones with the rest of my staff in an emergency.

 

[harsh]

No excuse for not answering the phones. If I were the Dish CEO, I'd be in the office answering phones with the rest of my staff in an emergency.

VOIP is typically how modern Customer Service (and business phone systems in general) is done. When your phone system runs over your computer networks and your computer networks are down, there are no POTS lines to fall back on.

To be sure, there was negligence at DISH in allowing this attack and not having a backup plan but this isn't your run-of-the-mill PBX outage where you swap out a couple of feature cards or repair a fiber cut and be on your way. Pretty much any large company with multiple offices and embracing Work-From-Home is subject to this kind of suffering and we're likely to see a whole lot more of it going forward.

 

[Moonwink]

Today's phone systems are all computer based. Harsh just said the attack took out Dish Network's phone system. You can't answer the phone if your system has been hacked. Phone systems with mechanical switches and operators working switchboards were hopefully all replaced by 1985 and replaced with the newer digital computer based phone systems.
In the coming years, our power grid and phone systems will be targeted by nefarious people with nothing better to do than screw over someone and demand payment to fix it or worse. It's too bad they can't use those talents productively. Computer and network security personnel will be in high demand.

 

[mwdxer]

Today's phone systems are all computer based. Harsh just said the attack took out Dish Network's phone system. You can't answer the phone if your system has been hacked. Phone systems with mechanical switches and operators working switchboards were hopefully all replaced by 1985 and replaced with the newer digital computer based phone systems.
In the coming years, our power grid and phone systems will be targeted by nefarious people with nothing better to do than screw over someone and demand payment to fix it or worse. It's too bad they can't use those talents productively. Computer and network security personnel will be in high demand.

That is the problem. Our phone/power should be backed up manually.

 

[harsh]

That is the problem. Our phone/power should be backed up manually.

Power is fairly easy to back up but doing a backup phone system isn't a matter of bringing in a bunch of old desk phones and wiring them in. Depending on the level of the hack, the network itself can be taken over (at the router and switch level) to the point that the network doesn't function.

While the intrusion is being investigated, the system typically has to be taken offline so that the hackers can't continue to make changes and undo repairs.

 

[NR4P]

A one time occurrence of poor customer service won't force me to jump ship too easily. Especially in light of an unusual event. I am more ticked off at Tmobile for having some my data stolen. Before that it was Target.

Firesticks are cool but geez, the remote and channel guide surfing is an annoyance. I like remotes that are lit up and have numbers on them, and even an input button.

Circle back in 30 days and give us a comparison.

 

[satcrazy]

Any super knowledgeable computer people out there?

Could this attack come from a work-from-home set up, and consequentially affect the main system?
Could this also be the result of too many phone reps being located out of the country, resulting as an easy port of entry?

Your opinion.

 

[scooper]

Lots of different vectors for the bad guys to use, but yes, email to a WAH worker could certainly have enabled this attack.

Listen to your IT people - DO NOT OPEN ATTACHMENTS FROM UNKNOWN SENDERS.

 

[hop4joy2u]

A one time occurrence of poor customer service won't force me to jump ship too easily. Especially in light of an unusual event. I am more ticked off at Tmobile for having some my data stolen. Before that it was Target.

Firesticks are cool but geez, the remote and channel guide surfing is an annoyance. I like remotes that are lit up and have numbers on them, and even an input button.

Circle back in 30 days and give us a comparison.

You get used to the scrolling. At about amost half the cost of Dish & more than half the cost of DirecTV. I made the leap 6 years ago. At first I was annoyed, but saving over $60 a month made me strive to adjust. Plus I have a DVR for free on YouTube TV, watch on every TV without extra cost up to 3 & I can rearrange the channels I most watch where I want to do scrolling isn't that bad. For me it was saving money.

 

[James Long]

Any super knowledgeable computer people out there?

Could this attack come from a work-from-home set up, and consequentially affect the main system?
Could this also be the result of too many phone reps being located out of the country, resulting as an easy port of entry?

Your opinion.

I would not blame foreign workers. With a good setup IT could eliminate direct access to servers. This particular attack seems to trace back to a vulnerability that would not be greater with overseas workers than with a US based workforce.

DISH has hired a lot of US based work at home representatives.

These sort of attacks keep people responsible for security up at night. If they don't keep your security people vigilant get new people.

I don't know DISH's structure, but too many companies make data security a part time job or a shared responsibility. One or more full time person focused on keeping the bad guys out is needed. And every employee needs regular training and testing to remind them that they are the human firewall.

My company sends test messages at least once per month to see who will open bad email, click on bad links or (worst case) provide their credentials to anyone. (I was going to write "provide their credentials to an unauthorized person" but can't think of anyone who would be authorized. IT will never ask for your password and logins should not be shared.)

 

[harsh]

Could this attack come from a work-from-home set up, and consequentially affect the main system?

Most certainly. The recent Lastpass breach happened as a result of an attack on an employee's Plex server that hadn't been updated.

Could this also be the result of too many phone reps being located out of the country, resulting as an easy port of entry?

It doesn't matter where you work from. All that matters is whether the bad guys find you and whether or not you're keeping up with your operating system and application software patches (especially Microsoft and Adobe products).

The idea that running older operating systems makes you more susceptible to attack is mostly OS vendor propaganda. No "most secure version ever" has proven to be less vulnerable than its predecessor.