VoIP Useful, but Risky

The VoIP technologies are pretty popular among the Internet users, but the number of small and large companies adopting such a tool is quickly growing up. However, it has been proved several times that these solutions are not always 100 percent secure, so an improved security system would be welcomed.

Shocking or not, IT managers are not concerned about these threats, many of them considering that their risk rating is often low or very low, Comms Business reported today. A survey conducted by NetIQ revealed that 59 percent of the respondents said the VoIP threats targeting their systems usually have a low or very low risk rating. 24 percent of the IT managers said the DoS attacks were pretty dangerous and they represented a real concern for their systems.

"The survey highlights a worrying complacency amongst organisations which have either already deployed or are about to install a VoIP infrastructure. Whilst the advantages in terms of cost savings are a huge incentive I'd urge organisations to carefully consider the potential vulnerabilities which can exist in the network and even in the phones themselves", Ulrich Weigel, Chief Security Strategist for NetIQ, said according to Comms Business.

"The main focus for organisations has traditionally been on ensuring voice quality and performance, but vigilance with security - and taking measures such as encrypting voice services and performing regular security audits - is equally important."

Another report, conducted a few weeks ago, revealed that numerous IT professionals, exactly the ones who were supposed to know all the things related to computers and their security, were ignoring major security rules and could always expose the data stored on the systems. The recent data losses come to support this statement, as numerous employees or officials lost CDs, laptops or even computers containing private data of thousands of people.