There is a new way to communicate over the internet, by means of voice services.  Voip is a wonderful way to communicate easily, for a low price.  If you have a business or you just like to communicate with loved ones, maybe long distance, you should look into voip systems.  There are many assets to long distance, but you should keep in mind that there are also some security issues with voip.

A lot has been said lately of the security, or lack thereof, of a voice over IP network. Just recently CompTIA put out a report claiming that only half of SMBs have any faith in the security measures taken in voip. Because many businesses consider telecommunications their lifeline to the outside world, it is no wonder that the business community is nervous about converging their networks.

Most companies require almost a hundred percent uptime and availability of their voice networks, their concerns about Voip security are not just paranoia, but based on real threats that are real technological possibilities.

So too are these threats nothing new to network and security professionals, who have been locking down IP networks from hackers and viruses since the advent of the technology. 

Most of these threats to the voice network are variations on a theme, disrupting communications in different ways using the same old methods. Of course, a Denial of Service attack can bring a voice network to its knees, rendering communication to an advanced form of gibberish, something most businesses will not tolerate.

Spoofing, man in the middle attacks, and eavesdropping are all threats in a data network that take on new possibilities in voip.

Intercepting identities and data, converting calls to voice files, all bring up thoughts of corporate espionage, company chaos, stolen identities and unauthorized bank transfers. Although the aforementioned attacks are not wide spread at this time, companies and security professionals must prepare for an onslaught as voip becomes widely adopted.  Securing a data network is top priority in today’s world, up to date security precautions are of utmost importance when converging your voice network.

There are some simple, nearly free ways do use voip on the personal level. All that is required is a broadband Internet connection of some type.

Now I am not here to advertise for any single organization selling voip equipment or services, but just to let you know, there are some that offer very nice package deals with equipment, Internet phones, headsets and all the fixings of standard enterprise phone systems.

There are also software-based systems that operate like your everyday chat systems and require only computer speakers and a microphone.  Additionally, voip and Internet telephony is that it avoids the tolls charged by ordinary telephone services that use the standard public switched telephone network. voip has been around for a while, yet it is starting to pick up speed now as an alternative means of communication.