It has recently emerged that a major security flaw called the Heartbleed software bug, has been discovered in encryption software used widely across the internet.
The bug, which may have exposed users' personal information, could potentially allow attackers to steal personal information stored online.
With over half a million SSE Airtricity customers actively managing their accounts online, all internet security threats such as Heartbleed are treated as critical in safeguarding customer privacy.
SSE Airtricity Digital Services Manager, Ronan Brady, commented:
“At SSE Airtricity, protecting our customers’ private data is paramount. That’s why we have been proactive and taken precautionary action in response to the Heartbleed bug to protect our customers’ personal data and to ensure their account and all the information associated with their account is safeguarded.
“Not only have we secured our website and our online customer service platform against Heartbleed so we are safe from this vulnerability we have also taken the added precaution of resetting all our customer passwords on their behalf. We’ve contacted all our customers who are registered to use our online customer service platform to advise them of the steps that we’ve taken and to provide the helpful information they need to reset their password to a new password of their choice the next time they log in to our online customer service platform. Our customer service team is also available to assist any customer who has any questions or concerns.
“In addition, in line with our commitment towards doing more for our customers we’ve also published a useful step-by-step guide to our website at SSEAirtricity.com detailing how customers can stay safe online at all times, as well as further information for customers on re-setting their My SSE Airtricity password.”
You can find out more about the Heartbleed bug, including which sites have been affected by visiting either RTE’s Heartbleed Q&A or the BBC’s, Heartbleed bug: What you need to know.