Newport Networks Riles Up VoIP Security Fears

Talk about service quality challenges and few people listen. Talk about the going price of VoIP accounts and VoIP security and everybody jumps on the bandwagon, as Newport Networks [1] must realize.

Newport's VP of Products Dave Gladwin turned up on the BBC talking about how vanilla credit card information can be purchased online for about $12 an account while VoIP account details allegedly sell for a premium at $17 a pop. With 90 percent of carriers not offering a "secure VoIP service," Gladwin said service providers just need to implement it properly. Skype says it doesn't have this problem as it offers end-to-end encryption.

Evil-doers are supposedly paying more because VoIP services provide access to paid-calls via landlines or mobiles. Getting access to a VoIP account for $17 provides unlimited outbound calls--until the end-user gets his bill at the end of the month and shuts it down. Harvesting of VoIP login details is supposed to be a snap at public hotspots because encryption isn't turned on.

Telecommunications reps feel quality of service ranks over security concerns. In a poll conducted at SofNet, industry delegates felt 60 percent of VoIP calls were "reasonably" secure while the largest threat to enticing new subscribers was quality of service at 43 percent. Only 28 percent felt identity theft was the biggest concern.

For more:

- Personal Computer World has a Phreak Out over VoIP [2]
- VoIP News covers Service Quality Challenges [3] for Newport Networks

Related articles:
LayerOne discussed GSM and VoIP security [4] over the weekend.
VoIP Security and the Circle of Trust [5]
In-Stat Survey Finds US Businesses Lagging in Securing VoIP [6]