During the early days of voice over IP, there was still no major concern about security issues; businesses here in Singapore were primarily concerned with the system’s reliability, functionality and cost. Now that voice over IP has become more popular among Singapore establishments, security has now become a major concern.
Let us take a look at the threats that VoIP users face today.
Identity Theft
Theft of personal information is done to commit fraud. This can happen through responding to an e-mail whereby you are directed to a website and requested to provide personal information in order to correct issues pertaining to your bank account, credit card, online purchase, etc. Another related concern is identity spoofing, wherein a person is impersonated on social networking sites like Facebook. The purpose of identity spoofing can range from doing simple pranks to more criminal offences like online scamming.
Eavesdropping
Eavesdropping is one way hackers steal credentials and personal information. Through listening to conversations, a hacker can obtain usernames, passwords and phone numbers of employees, allowing these criminals to gain access to voicemails, call plans, administrative portals and billing information. Attackers can eavesdrop on systems in order to execute corporate sabotage, identity theft or VoIP service theft.
Viruses and Malware
Since voice over IP utilizes softphones and software, the Singapore hosted voip company system is therefore at risk to viruses and malwares. These viruses hijack computer systems and take control over it. They can send spam messages and malicious data, permanently destroy files and trace data entry to access information remotely. Financial information and credit card data are commonly targeted by this type of attack.
Denial of Service (DoS)
DoS is an attack targeted on a device or network in order to deny it of service or connectivity. It is done either by consuming the bandwidth or overloading the device or the network’s internal resources. This prevents outgoing and incoming VoIP calls and allows hackers to gain remote access and control of admin servers. They can conveniently steal confidential business and client information and abuse IP servers to make costly calls under your business’ account.
Call Tampering
Call tampering involves transmission of noise packets to interrupt communication over a line and cause dropped calls, reduce voice call quality and delay voice signal. A third party can change the encryption key of your call’s digital signature, making it vulnerable to interception. IP servers are tricked into believing that the original parties are still in the line and the hacker now has the opportunity to collect data and cause serious damage on your IP system.
Man-in-the-Middle Attack
This is a sophisticated system attack, where the attacker uses software tools to fool your customer into believing that it is a server and vice versa. By sitting between a client and a genuine server, the man in the middle can interrupt the traffic flowing between them, manipulate the data and replay messages. This type of system attack is essentially effective in capturing sensitive data in wireless connection.
Spam in VoIP Sessions (SPIT)
SPIT, also known as VoIP spam, comes as a phone call. While it is not very common yet, the biggest problem of this threat is that voice messages are 10 times larger than e-mails, therefore consuming much more bandwidth. This can lead to poor voice call clarity and quality. The prevalence of this issue is expected to rise as the same sources that produce e-mail spam can easily modify their e-mails into voice over IP spam calls.
The Solutions
You can protect your business from these high-tech system attacks by using the following techniques.
• Authentication Protocols
Authentication protocols in VoIP differ based on the type of data being transported. It can be as simple as password authentication procedure to something as complex as a three-way authentication process. However, password authentication is susceptible to attack and can be easily exploited by system hackers. Many times, usernames and passwords are not sufficiently protected or disguised before traversing the link. Using a VPN rather than an open internet helps reduce this issue significantly.
• Encryption
Web communication service providers in Singapore offer authentication and encryption protocols, and many of them offer encryption as an additional IP service. Along with ensuring customer satisfaction, businesses especially those in the retail and financial industries should take extra measures to ensure safety of consumer data.
• Anti-Virus Software
Because softphones are part of VoIP systems, protecting them from malware and viruses is critical to securing your IP network. Malicious third-party programs can enter your system through emails and downloaded files to interrupt or suspend your network services entirely. Installing anti-virus applications and firewalls is important. Often, VoIP in Singapore offer anti-virus protection as part of their services.
• Authorization Policies and Call Restrictions
A simple method for your organization to secure your VoIP lines is to regulate policies in your premises. Perform call audits and set call restrictions to keep track of your system’s activities. You can secure configuration of your IP application by creating a list of approved country codes for your employees’ usage.
Network security threats are on the rise, making it more important to integrate and update network security measures. Safeguarding business information and confidential client data should remain a top priority of any system and establishment. An effective VoIP in Singapore as your security partner in your business will significantly help in detecting, analyzing and responding to cyber threats before they can cause damage to your productivity and reputation. A reputable VoIP in Singapore can work with you and harness your knowledge in protecting your business from the increasingly hostile environment of technology.
