By Sharla Sikes

VoIP has been under the gun in regards to its security, but some say that’s not the case.

Security concerns about VoIP networks are exaggerated, according to industry consultants.

It’s undeniable that VoIP is hackable; but calling it less secure than the Public Switched Telephone Network may not be entirely true.
Ari Takanen, founder and chief technical offer of Codenomicon, commented: “IP systems are more exposed, but you have more security that you can install.”

Next Generation Security Software security consultant Barrie Dempster says that the security flaws discussed at the conference aren’t specific to VoIP networks.

“The problem is not the specific vulnerabilities themselves. It’s the maturity of the software. There hasn’t been enough security review yet,” he said.

The VoIP Security Alliance, an industry safety group, oversees distributing hacking tools to the industry in order to bring security issues to light.

Yet whether or not it’s greater than PSTN phone systems, security IS important in the VoIP industry—just as with any network.

“If you apply traditional network security logic to VoIP you can make it as secure as any other protocol,” says Dempster.

VoIP’s vulnerabilities came to light due to its relative youth, and the fact security wasn’t considered when its code was written. Like other new technologies, programmers worked to create functional code, and security was questioned later. Development continues to lock down VoIP systems.

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