KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — Broadband provider Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) tonight agreed to change remote access settings to its new UniFi high-speed broadband service that carries potential security risks to more than 1,000 customers.

The Malaysian Insider reported earlier today that the risk comes from a second administration account on routers that UniFi customers have to use.

The routers have the option for remote management enabled and customers were not informed and therefore unable to reset the password.

“TM will immediately change every UniFi customers’ router management password into a high security, unique one (which will be only known to the customer and TM),” the company said in a statement.

TM said the change was to maintain the higher level of service enabled by remote access management on customer routers.

“TM will notify all our UniFi customers of this change accordingly,” it added.

The company also assured all concerned parties that “the only reason the UniFi router setting for remote access is enabled is for remote access troubleshooting purposes for the express use of our technical support personnel. In the event there is a technical support issue with any of our UniFi subscribers”.

It said that at the first level of troubleshooting, TM’s network operation centre (NOC) can immediately remotely diagnose the problem before sending a support team on-site.

But it noted the security concerns that have been raised, and “have taken these issues to heart”.

As of May 7, there were about 1,700 UniFi customers.

TM’s UniFi service is part of its High Speed Broadband (HSBB) project was initiated in 2008 and is initially be available in four areas around the Klang Valley: Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Bangsar. It will be expanded to another 22 areas by June and a further 22 by December.

By 2012, TM expects to hit 1.2 million premises.