Is VoIP Secure?

Did you know that most VoIP providers operate on standard industry protocols - public and interpretable to almost anyone - including most P2P networks? How's that for a jolt in your java?

What does this mean for you?

If you subscribe or use VoIP, you may be in danger of hackers and their crimes, including viruses and id theft.

From a hacker's perspective, did you know there is software that can actually disable your computer's security system, allowing them to access information, install viruses and worms for instance. Their was/is a software that actually records phone conversations on VoIP to .wav files which playback on MP3 players!

There are manuals that show hackers how to disrupt service on a website and gain unauthorized access to your admin panel. "Sniff" was a tool designed for telecom professional to detect and solve issues, and is now used by hackers to "sniff out" VoIP data.

All this leads to ID Theft, one of the fastest growing crimes in the world today. The Department of Justice says that ID Theft is the "wrongful obtaining and using some else's personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for monetary gains.

One of the recent indictments for hacking was sentenced for circulation of a virus through Peer-2-Peer systems. Another jolt for you - your antivirus does not work well on P2P networks with many IM. A better choice is a VoIP Softphone with IM build in and operating from the providers own proprietary facility. This means that SoftPhone's IM Technology is secure.

Providers and technology will take care of this problem in time, but your solution now if you like VoIP like I do, is to choose a provider with their own high end encrytion. If they don't offer this information, ask, and if they don't have it, move on. If you are a SoftPhone user, make sure your IM is built into your SoftPhone.

With a bit of care you can be a happy VoIP camper

All of our VoIP Providers have high end encryption of their own.