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Is Your VOIP Service Secure

Friday, July 25, 2008

For individuals, VOIP security is primarily a matter of preventing others from listening to their conversations. Some VoIP service providers offer voice security through encryption or separate data routes.

Regular precautions for transferring files should, of course, always be followed. A firewall should be in place to protect your computer from Internet and data or program that is downloaded should be checked for viruses.

But users must reealize that VoIP devices are inherently more vulnerable to attacks. Some types of equipment may be unstable or unusable when they receive certain types of data. Some Internet phones are also sensitive to data against piracy, revealing private information under certain conditions.

Although this is unlikely to be of great concern when you call Uncle Tim is a huge concern for companies that constant use of telephone communication to discuss sensitive commercial information. As VOIP popularity increases, security becomes a growing concern and is now widespread attention.

Security problems
It is mainly companies that have to be concerned with security issues related to VoIP. They are more sensitive to denial of service (DOS) attacks and other heinous forms of piracy because many personal businesses operate gateways and other equipment for connecting to the Internet.

There are several security issues related to VoIP. Eavesdropping is an understandable fear with both regular and Voice over IP calls, but there are other concerns of this technology. Since VOIP data travel across the Internet like any other type of data, it is vulnerable to the same types of attacks. Hackers have countless software tools available to them to retrieve the information transmitted over the Internet. These tools are equally effective with voice data as with any other type of data.

Another security threat is the possibility of sending virus data over IP. This has not yet emerged, but the virus could potentially overload VoIP networks, reduced sound quality and delays.

Voice over IP is not protected against spam. It is to receive unsolicited calls marketing companies selling their products and services.

There are several points in the transmission of VOIP calls that hackers can use to retrieve data. In additin to the actual recovery of the conversations, they can also access essential information such as the identities of users and VOIP phone numbers. With this information, a hacker can place phone calls using another identity.

The attacker could also record phone calls while wiretapped conversations and even potentially restructure voice data to create discussions that never really existed! The log files can also be accessed and modified.

There are ways currently available that address these security issues. The first is encryption, which provides the same type of security used for sending credit card information over a secure data connection. The second is to separate voice over IP data from other Internet traffic using a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN). Both methods can degrade the quality of calls, but they present an alternative for sensitive calls.

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