Whether cost-effective, flexible, scalable, and masquerading as a litany of other features not found in legacy-phone systems, today’s VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) is an application, which is almost everywhere used for the communication needs of organizations. This is, however, open to attack like any other internet-based technology.
The security scenario for VoIP is very complicated and ever-changing, with new threats like eavesdropping, call tampering, toll fraud, and denial of service (DoS) attacks. Therefore, it is very necessary to understand these issues and learn mitigation measures to safeguard sensitive communication and ensure business continuity.
VoIP systems are exposed to the following security risks:
Here are some of the best examples of auditory threats damaging VoIP solutions up and down the entire spectrum.
1. Interception of Eavesdropping Calls
Thus, the voice data are un-encrypted once transmitted on the Internet using VOIP as an overhead. Thus, it gives a lot of chances for interceptors to extract the traffic information, which results in either data leakage, property theft, or evidence of serious discussions being leaked.
How to Overcome It:
- End-to-end encryption for both signalling and media streams (e.g., SRTP and TLS protocol).
- Establishing secure tunnelling communications using VPNs for remote-access users.
- Continue to keep the status of VoIP client applications by timely updating to implement newly implemented encryption patches.
2. VoIP Phishing (Vishing)
“Vishing” refers to social-engineering attacks that call users to extract sensitive information, such as passwords or financial data. The attackers will spoof the caller ID of a trusted party to entice the victim into divulging information.
How to Overcome It:
- Train employees to spot suspicious phone calls.
- Put in place tools for caller ID authentication to avoid caller ID spoofing, such as STIR/SHAKEN.
- Have call analytics with Artificial Intelligence that detects unusual calling patterns or voice fraud attempts.
3. Toll Fraud
Toll fraud happens when a hacker illegally enters the VoIP system and makes costly international calls to maximise charges to the business.
How to Overcome It:
- Restrict international calls and place calling limits on user accounts.
- Watch for abnormal call volumes or times (for instance, heavy traffic at 3 a.m.)
- Employ strong passwords and MFA for VoIP account access.
4. Denial of Service and Distributed Denial of Service Attacks
Floods the VoIP server with meaningless data so that legitimate conversation would be crippled and the server would potentially crash.
How to Do It:
- A firewall and session border controllers (SBCs) help in outside filtering or segmenting this malicious traffic.
- Rate-limit and monitor traffic, and implement the same.
- Help with providers offering DDoS mitigation services.
5. Man-in-the-middle attacks
The hackers can insert themselves in between two parties on the VoIP call, intercept and might be changing the conversation or collecting data in real-time.
How to Overcome It:
- Signalling SIP must use TLS and SRTP for media encryption.
- Check digital certificates and apply certificate pinning to minimise spoofing.
- Regular audits and updates of VoIP infrastructure components to reduce vulnerabilities.
6. Poor Endpoint Security and BYOD Risks.
With hybrid and remote working, employees would use personal devices (BYOD) to access VoIP services. These endpoints may not be secure and give a weak point of entry for the attacker.
How to Do It:
- Implement mobile device management (MDM) tools, which enforce security.
- Device encryption and security software are needed on all endpoints.
- Provide safe company-approved softphone applications with embedded protections.
Conclusion
Due to its vast attack surface for black-hat hackers, VoIP is a great addition to modern organisations. Once the threats are understood and preventive measures are duly implemented, VoIP would prove to be a boon for the organisation without requiring any compromise on security. The involvement of security comes before any incident occurs; with tools, practices, and a mindset in play, creating a secure VoIP sounds fun.
All you need to do is ask if you need assistance with assessing your VoIP security posture. Together, we will review your configuration and suggest possible actions for improvement. Just drop us a line and we’ll get started right away!
