Protect Yourself Against Top VoIP Security Threats

 

You must protect data, information, and confidentiality in your company. Nowadays that is not an easy thing to do. Hackers and snoopers of all sorts are constantly scavenging for information. You should assume that your company has been targeted and take appropriate action.

One of the most effective ways to keep your voice communications secure is to install a VoIP phone system. VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. It is an alternative to the conventional telephone systems, which is also known as a public switched telephone network. VoIP is used by companies that have a distributed management and operations organization. If your company has people and business units all around the world, it is more practical and less costly to have a cloud-based phone systems.

There are plenty of companies that offer VoIP services. Radio communications are a bit more challenging to secure. More field based personell are using digital mobile radio communications today. Using encrypted radio over IP (RoIP) is how to lock down those conversations. Security is one of the most important features of VoIP and RoIP systems. You and your colleagues should be able to make secure voice calls over ip but may require a communications system integrator to configure the encrypted VoIP to radio over IP components.

How VoIP Works

In VoIP, calls are established using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). A connection is made between two parties over the Internet backbone. The SIP server compresses voice traffic into digital streams and sends them through this connection.

Companies have shifted to VoIP because it is cost-effective and flexible. If a large section of your workforce regularly works from home, using a VoIP network allows everyone to keep in contact and to share data and information. VoIP and computer systems use the same network, which means that your IT staff or IT provider must maintain only one secure network.

The Realities of VoIP Security

The lower costs, increasing popularity and accessibility of VoIP makes it a target of attackers who wish to exploit it. The placement of malware on VoIP systems, the breaching of databases, and the institution of payment fraud are just some of the many threats and breaches that have occurred in VoIP networks. It is estimated that the cost of such breaches reached $8.1 million in the United States in 2019. Healthcare, finance, and energy are the industries most affected by VoIP hackers and cyber criminals.

The top threats to VoIP systems include:

1. Denial of service

This attack saps resources from the network to interrupt phones service.

2. War dialing

In this attack, the assailant seizes control of your hosted PBX and uses it to scan other telephone networks.

3. Phishing

In this type of attack, unsuspecting victims are lured into divulging passwords and other sensitive data.

5. Spam

Involves the use of robocalls and other phone scams.

6. Malware

This uses malicious software to infiltrate your network and gather sensitive data and information.

A typical communication systems provider can make sure you own secure, quality products and you as the customer are completely satisfied. If you are looking for ways to improve your company’s communications system, you should make the switch to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Radio over Internet Protocol (RoIP).