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The future of commercial communication is unquestionably Voice over Internet Protocol. While the people may have been facing issues in the past regarding the reliability of calls redirected over the internet, such problems are virtually gone now.
Because of their adaptability and flexibility, VoIP platforms may now easily compete with and even outperform traditional landline phones. Furthermore, those systems can be set up in minutes, and the costs of installation and maintenance are significantly lower than traditional phone infrastructures. With so many advantages, it’s no surprise that 61 per cent of organisations have already made the switch from landlines toVoIP.
However, using Voice over Internet Protocol for business reasons carries a number of major hazards, most of which are related to security flaws. Unfortunately, due to the aforementioned prevalence of internet-based communications, VoIP has become a major target for a variety of scammers and hackers.
If you’re looking at VoIP solutions or have recently had one installed, it’s critical that you understand the primary internet threats and how to avoid them affecting your business. We’ll go through the five most frequent VoIP security threats and how to defend your network from them in this article. But first, let’s go over the advantages of using a VoIP system.
Most common VoIP security Risks
In the Digital era, everything is related to the internet . Cybercriminals and scammers might utilise VoIP to harm your business. Criminals can listen in on all of your calls, rack up phone bills, and steal crucial information about your business and customers by hacking your phone system. And most crooks don’t stop there. They can use the information they’ve gathered to spoof your company or blackmail you into disclosing sensitive information in exchange for money. What are the most prevalent security issues associated with VoIP?
Phishing
Phishing (also known as Vishing, as in VoIP phishing) attempts have plagued businesses all over the world in recent years, with Google registering more than 2 million phishing sites as of 2021.
Scammers frequently phone numbers that appear to be similar to those of reputable organisations (government). Scammers typically contact numbers that appear to be from official organisations (government agencies, tax departments, banks, and so on) and leave a message concerning “strange activity” on the recipient’s account. The victim is then transferred to a different call, where they are requested to “check their identity,” which entails giving sensitive company information such as their employer’s or bank account information.
DDOS:
There are 70% of organisation is subjected to DDoS attacks. According to Corero’s survey, 20-50 DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks occur per month. Even if the majority of them fail, the key issue is that fraudsters can now launch DDoS attacks considerably faster and cheaper than ever before, thanks to powerful machines, specialised software, and far greater bandwidth than ever before. This also implies that not only “major players” are involved.
When hackers overload a server with data and consume all of its bandwidth, this is known as a DDoS attack. Hackers can use this method to make a machine or network unavailable to its users, either temporarily or permanently. This means that no calls can be made or received using VoIP. But that’s not all: in the worst-case scenario, the attacker may gain access to the server’s administrative controls.
Call Tempering:
Tampering is a term used to describe when someone tam. Hackers use call tampering to try to disrupt the calls you’re currently on. They have the ability to transfer a significant amount of data via the same path that you are using for the call, causing the quality to deteriorate. They can also delay data packet delivery between callers, which makes everything worse.
Viruses and Malware
Malware, trojans, and viruses are still one of the most serious risks to network security. These malicious programmes are designed to offer hackers complete access to the system, drain network bandwidth, or substantially degrade the internet signal’s quality.
While malicious applications can cause a lot of damage on their own, many of them can also build backdoors in the system, making it easier for hackers to eavesdrop on your calls or steal crucial data.
VOMIT
The name (or rather, acronym) may appear obscene, yet it refers to a severe threat to any company. Cybercriminals can steal voice packets and critical information directly from calls using a programme called “Voice over Misconfigured Internet Telephones.” The hackers also use useful information.
SPIT
SPIT is a voice-based spamming technique that involves sending voicemails or “robocalls” numerous times every week. With the tools at their disposal, spammers may easily send thousands of messages to different IP addresses at once or pass themselves off as genuine, local phone numbers when they are actually from different countries.
Answering such a call or listening to the voicemail could lead to the recipient being redirected to an extremely expensive phone number in another country, or the messages could contain viruses or spyware.
Is VoIP then safe to use?
After reading about all of the VoIP security concerns and dangers, you might be hesitant to use Internet calls in your business.
One of the most efficient ways to ensure that your critical information is safe from hackers is to encrypt it. Even if data or communications are intercepted, the hackers will be unable to use them because of tight encryption.
- For all of the devices on your VoIP platform, create strong, unique passwords.
- Test your network for security flaws on a regular basis.
- Update all of the tools you use on a regular basis.
- Instruct your employees on how to respond in the event of a phishing attack.
VoIP service providers also make a concerted effort to ensure that the data saved and transmitted on their platforms is free of hacking attempts. They also have a variety of security features integrated into their platforms and test them on a regular basis for flaws.
To ensure that your call is received
Internally, no passwords or credit card data are saved; the latter is sent directly to the payment processing business, while the former is held in 9 internationally scattered data centres by Amazon AWS and Google Cloud Platform. This method assures that your information is secure with us.
Conclusion:
When utilising any internet-connected product, you must be aware of potential security threats, and VoIP is no exception. The more you plan to employ Voice over Internet Protocol calls in your organisation, the more you need to protect yourself from their flaws. However, by adopting a few simple precautions, you can protect your organisation from most VoIP security threats and keep your data safe. Maintain your tools on a regular basis.
Read more: Cybersecurity Awareness In 2022: 7 Risks You Should Keep An Eye On
