VoIP Legal Issues and Security Concerns

Voice over Internet Protocol (aka VoIP) has gotten a lot of praises sung about it, and rightly so, but the chorus of adulation often risks drowning out the cautionary voices that warn us that even VoIP has its downside. Every technology, no matter how awesome or beneficial, has pitfalls that we need to be aware of and take measures against.

With VoIP, voice communication is handled over the Internet, which is a great setup overall, with plenty of benefits. But that very same voice communication brings with it the same vulnerabilities as the conventional net-based services and applications.

It’s a wise entrepreneur who embraces this rising star in the communication technology firmament. But you do need to be aware of certain VoIP legal issues and security concerns, as part of your risk management . What sort of concerns and issues, you ask? Read on …

A Matter Of Privacy
Thanks to VoIP, telephone call costs are slashed deeply, which means that the temptation is there for more personal calls to be made over the line, which in turn leads to the temptation for businesses to monitor those calls. While many businesses allow their staff to make a certain amount of personal calls, this can rapidly turn into an issue if left unchecked. How much is too much? And how closely do you monitor your employees’ calls?

Sometimes, in the bid to have a secure Internet, VoIP security is overlooked.

Furthermore, a VoIP system that doesn’t have its own unique security architecture and controls may cause legal headaches for companies that deal in sensitive information such as customers’ credit information, or a health center’s patient records. This issue is further exacerbated if a company relies on third-party VoIP applications, since it becomes difficult to verify the safety of information or the maintenance of privacy, as such measures are out of the company’s hands.

The Biggest Security Issues
Would you believe toll call fraud? Although many companies have firewalls in place for their data, most don’t give VoIP security a second thought, thereby making the system vulnerable to hackers. One of the best ways to fight this is by monitoring usage, something most businesses simply don’t do.

Then there’s voice phishing, also called vishing. Since more people inherently trust phone lines more than they do Internet connections, they can fall prey to scams involving phone usage. For instance, a victim may receive an e-mail that instructs them to call a certain number to verify financial information, only to have information such as bank account numbers delivered right into the hands of fraud perpetrators.

And let’s not forget the ever-present spam. Yes, VoIP can be victimized by spamming, and in this case it’s called Spam Over Internet Telephony, creating the very appropriate acronym of “Spit”. More of a nuisance than an example of outright fraud, Spit can clog voice mail in-boxes beyond capacity, possibly pushing out legitimately important phone messages. Also, the cheap cost of VoIP makes it easier for telemarketers, direct sales people, pranksters, and con-men to increase their activity, which means more useless calls going to businesses and being a nuisance time-waster.

Finally, there are Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. A hacker flooding a VoIP server with unwanted requests can bring a system down just long enough to cause damage or even in some cases allow a hacker to steal information or funds. On top of that, there’s the damage to the company’s reputation to take into consideration if their customer service call center goes down.

All told, VoIP is still a killer deal for today’s businesses. People simply need to be made aware that VoIP security needs to be taken as seriously as regular net security, and as a result take stronger security measures to make the network secure.