Safeguarding Your VoIP Telephony

With all the benefits, features and cost effective measures that VoIP phone systems have to offer many businesses are swarming the industry to replace their conventional phone system, however since the inception of the technology there is one major concern that businesses are considering and that is privacy, theoretically anyone with an internet connection and the proper software can eavesdrop on your phone calls unlike conventional phones that needs a physical tap to hard lines before doing so. But don’t let this put you off, VoIP phones are internet based and data are transmitted over the cloud meaning it can be protected via encryption and the protection is equivalent that of to conventional phone system. It is advised that you discuss the encryption process and how well you data and phone calls are protected before you place a subscription to a provider. With the proper encryption mechanism your cloud PBX systems, SIP trunk lines and other VoIP subscription will become nearly unbreakable and you can start enjoying the benefits of the technology whist eliminating the drawback. Here are some useful and effective ways how to safeguard your phone calls and data transmission. Readily available software – There are a number of easy to install software available over the internet, but generally it is only advisable for residential use only since most of these software will require both ends to have it installed and both parties need to be using VoIP phone system for it to work properly. Internal Encryption – This means that the service provider has encrypted their system on a server level and customers need not to worry about privacy, it is best to discuss with your provider regarding the service. Most of the big fishes in the industry have comprehensive internal encryption within their system. SRTP (Secure Real-Time Transfer Protocol) – One of the most popular techniques in data protection, SRTP works by creating a unique key for each VoIP calls that you make making your system virtually unbreakable without comprising call quality and data transmission. TLS (Transport Layer Security) and IPsec (IP Security)- often used together, the TLS mechanism works by encrypting data travelling from application to application and the latter works by coding both the caller and recipients devices including all of the running application within the system. VPN (Virtual Private Network) – VPN often have data encryption mechanisms incorporated within the system, you further capitalize on this if you incorporate it with your VoIP phone system to secure your phone calls, however these may require a gateway since the VPN encryption process in run under it. Other Security Options • Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) • Microsoft Point-to-Point Encryption (MPPE) • MPVPN (Multi Path Virtual Private Network)