Telephony systems using Voice over IP (VoIP) bring countless benefits to an establishment including but not exclusive to price, convenience and flexibility. Despite this, as with any connected device from laptops, smartphones to the new world of IoT, VoIP services are also vulnerable to dangers such as fraudulent attacks and hackers.
As a result, we thought why not explain in some easy bitesize steps how you can benefit from these new fantastic technologies without risk from those that mean you harm. Throughout the next few weeks, we’ll be advising on multiple methods, and this week we’re going to begin with the implementation of firewalls.
1
Essentially a firewall is your traditional first line of defence on your network edge against malicious activity. When we consider that this can mean attacks or fraudulent behaviour; from compromising your data, to using your phone system to make thousands of pounds worth of calls, it is something to take seriously.
2
A firewall should feature as a minimum requirement in securing your VoIP network. It works by blocking all incoming connections – devices inside a firewalled network can create connections with exterior devices, however by default not the other way around.
3
If configured correctly, a firewall can offer an efficient way of policing traffic which enters or leaves your network. By limiting admission to particular IP addresses and services, the number of network and VoIP security vulnerabilities within your business will be significantly reduced.
4
At Voip Unlimited, we advise you to speak to your IT support team to ensure that your firewall is correctly locked down so that only legitimate voice traffic can reach your phone system and that those attempting to gain access to it are blocked.
5
Voip Unlimited SIP customers benefit from an even stronger primary line of defence as our private core network has sophisticated anti-fraud and anti-DoS attack measures in place to keep our customers’ network and phone system from being targeted by those who would mean harm. Should the worst happen and your phone system were to be compromised, our anti-fraud measures will use complex algorithms to detect unusual traffic and prevent any further calls, avoiding excessive bills due to fraudulent activity.
Our next VoIP advice blog will focus on the benefits call barring can bring to your VoIP system.
