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| Calling India using VoIP from Canada In 2011, the Do's and Don'ts |
By:
VoIPExpert |
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As VoIP (Voice over internet protocol) establishes a greater foothold in the market of communication, the threats that it is susceptible to increase too.
Due to the cost effective capabilities of VoIP when calling international destinations, it is now becoming a bigger player in business communication, where security is paramount.
For example an Indian business contacting one in Canada via VoIP could be putting the security of both sides at risk if not adhering to tight security restrictions. With that there are five security trends aimed at business communicating on an international basis, and ways to prevent them, which could come in useful for those based in say Canada and India:
• Denial-of-service attacks:
Diagnosis: Overtime this has become a particular favourite in the hacking community and aims to sap bandwidth and resources in computer networking. Well, as VoIP relies on an internet connection, the same applies. This could result in any customers trying to make calls being prevented to do so.
Solution: To be able to prevent these kinds of attacks when operating VoIP on a network, the network would need to be set-up in a way in which any influx of activity at the fringe of the network can be managed.
• Listening In On Calls:
Diagnosis: Hackers possess tools which enable them to snoop in on any VoIP calls made on a core network. This is particularly popular on an unsecured network.
Solution: For the risk of this to be minimised a Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) can be set up to segregate or encrypt VoIP call data streams to the edge of the network.
• Lack of security enforcement by vendors for VoIP:
Diagnosis: Lots of elements in an organisation's VoIP network (such as feature servers, voicemail systems etc.) will use operating systems such as Windows which themselves are vulnerable to security risks such as malware. If in a network, this will obviously affect the VoIP system in place.
Solution: Simply ask the VoIP vendor beforehand if when setup whether the VoIP network would be hardened enough to withstand any vulnerabilities.
• Spam via VoIP:
Diagnosis: Just like email inboxes, VoIP too is also open to spam email attacks. Hackers can easily set up systems to make multiple calls to a VoIP phone. This is known as SPITing - spam over internet telephony, which is not only annoying, but it could also busy the line and prevent any international callers from getting through.
Solution: Though not a definitive answer, techniques and systems are evolving to block unwanted VoIP calls and are quite accessibly available.
• Vhishing:
Diagnosis: Similar to Phishing on the internet to gain valuable personal information in an illegitimate way, the same technique has been developed to target VoIP users. Hackers can vhish people into surrendering important and sensitive information such as bank details etc, leaving them to this was for a legitimate reason. For a company communicating on an international scale (such as in Canada or India) while utilising VoIP technology, this problem could be absolutely huge.
Solution: One way in which to combat this problem is use a device and user authentication system. This will enable network managers to definitively decide where the call is coming from.
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Costas Kariolis - Senior Director Online - UK & Canada. Vonage are leading VoIP (voice over IP) internet phone service providers. VoIP enables you to use your current high speed Internet Service and Phone to make VoIP Phone Calls using VoIP, whether Local or Long Distance.
For interviews, quotes, images or comments contact:
Costas Kariolis Senior Director Online - UK & Canada
E-mail: theteam@vonage.com |
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