VoIP security is still evolving since the threats that have currently been identified are still more or less theoretical in nature. As of now, VoIP calls and VoIP hardware forms a minuscule percentage of the telephone system which is still overwhelmingly PSTN based. Therefore, targeted attacks are still not profitable enough to take the effort over. But this isn’t something that we can just sit on till it explodes. PSTN systems are on their way out and we have to deal with possible security solutions now.

Privacy

Privacy is a very important aspect of VoIP – especially when businesses are involved in confidential negotiations and the like. However, this is actually a strong point of VoIP vis a vis PSTN systems. The IP based packets can undergo complex encryption to prevent eavesdropping and the basic infrastructure is already in place. Virtual Private Networks or VPNs as they’re called are already used by the vast majority of professional corporations and the VoIP infrastructure can easily piggyback on this.

DDoS attacks

Far more serious, is the possibility of a Denial of service attack that can cripple the network. This involves large amounts of useless data being sent to overwhelm the server or the pipe which suddenly doesn’t have the resources to deal with legitimate requests. The danger is made worse by the fact that VoIP is ultra sensitive to this sort of disruption since it’s real time in nature and users will have a very low tolerance for this sort of thing.

The solution doesn’t differ from those advocated for regular Internet connections. Ensure that the firewalls are properly configured, and make sure anti virus software is up to date. Sometimes, businesses can utilize third party services that route traffic through their servers to filter out suspicious packets.

Another solution is to deploy voice data on another Internet connection entirely or segregate the existing connection into two with one channel being dedicated to voice. Sophisticated intrusion and detection tools can then be deployed on the virtual voice channel that protect it from invasions.

There are many more threats to VoIP that are just now being uncovered. It’s not easy to foresee the future, but we can take a leaf from our existing Internet systems. For example, changing the default passwords Brand Viagra on all VoIP hardware is essential to prevent easy remote access. Simple things like that will go a long way towards ensuring a safe and secure VoIP system.

Author Bio: Bhagwad is a specialist in Hosted PBX services. He’s also an expert in giving advice for implementing VoIP for mobile phones.

Category: Technology/VOIP
Keywords: Hosted PBX Services, VoIP for mobile phones