Recent Articles
I came across this article today and think everyone should think about VOIP.
Voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) is not a new phenomenon. It has been around
the business community for many years. But it's increasing popularity among
average citizens looking for more affordable and technology-driven options
in long distance telephone service is becoming quite the phenomenon. As with
any "new" technology on the forefront, often the excitement of getting
the product out and available to the public precludes any real consideration
for issues such as security flaws. And the consumers often don't consider such
problems until it is too late, like when they have fallen victim to a hacker.
Just as traditional telephone systems are vulnerable to breaches in security,
VOIP has its own, more complex security issues.
There has been very little implementation of VOIP security systems to date.
More than likely, this is because there has been no really dangerous attack
on an IP system yet. Most customers of VOIP are likely more interested in cost
and quality than security at this point, have not heard of any notable attacks.
Waiting for that to happen, though, can be a costly and inconvenient mistake.
It is wise to consider being proactive in securing VOIP phone systems, just
as an organization does not hesitate in securing their other information networks.
Though security products seem costly now, as the demand for VOIP systems continue
to increase, new VOIP security products will likely be developed down the road
that can be incorporated into all-in-one applications to protect entire information
networks. This will make the possibility of an organization totally securing
its information and voice networks not so costly or daunting to consider.
There are a few characteristics of VOIP that are particularly vulnerable
to security breaches, and subscribers to the service should be aware of these.
With VOIP, call information is logged on call management boxes, where the VOIP
services are also put into action. These boxes are vulnerable to viruses and
hackers' attacks, which could result in a loss of data that might be considered
confidential to the organization. This could have a snowball effect, compromising
an organization's reliability and trust with customers or clients, and cost
them a lot of money down the line in data retrieval and security upgrades.
That is why it is important to consider VOIP security from the outset, and
make certain that any data storage is safely guarded behind a firewall.
Another potentially defenseless aspect of VOIP is the gateway from which
voice data is routed between the source and the destination. These gateways
are extremely susceptible to attacks by hackers looking to gain the ability
to make free telephone calls. Eavesdropping should be yet another worry of
those subscribing to VOIP service. Hackers use special tools to find, store,
play back, and even alter voice data that they track down. This can have devastating
consequences for an organization that might deal in highly sensitive or confidential
information. Encrypting VOIP voice traffic, using firewalls, and restricting
access by using an alternate domain for VOIP traffic and restricting the use
of that domain through an access list are but a few of the ways to cut any
VOIP security issues off at the pass.
Not considering the potential security issues that could arise using VOIP
phone technology is not wise. Waiting for something to happen and trying to
solve the problem after the fact can be costly for an organization, both for
its customers and associates and its bottom line. When email was a new and
exciting technology, security was not thought much of, until worms and viruses
began infesting the inboxes of people worldwide. And now it seems that email
security measures are struggling to keep up with the potential dangers. Knowing
that there is a potential for disaster, and being proactive in trying to prevent
sensitive voice data from being hacked and stolen by investing in VOIP security
systems on the outset is the best way to get the most out of VOIP phone technology.
About the Author
Learn the essential information for picking the Voip provider / services at Voip
Security
Other Excellent Resources
Online College Degree
Author Alan Stutts offers advice on business and education matters
Life Insurance USA
