Voice Over Internet Protocol

Voice Over IP : Is It Risk-Free

Voice over IP (VoIP ) is described as the use of packet-switched networks and the TCP /IP protocol suite to transmit voice conversations over the Internet (Dean , 2003 . VoIP has generated great interest among network service providers , equipment manufacturers , and customers . Dean (2003 suggested that the implementation of VoIP may include one or more of the following reasons

To improve business efficiency and competitiveness

To supply new or enhanced features and applications

To centralize voice and data network management

To improve employee productivity

To

save money

Of the reasons suggested for implementing VoIP , the item that appears to be most significant is economic reason of saving money . In the case of private networks , completing calls over a packet-switched network allows an organization to avoid paying expensive long distance telephone charges , a function known as toll bypass . While in theory using VoIP makes the voice transmission appear to be "free " since it is traveling on the Internet , the reality is that the capacity of the network and the reliability of the Internet are not sufficient at this time to guarantee the quality of service that most people expect on voice transmissions There are benefits in sharing a single network , moving from proprietary voice system to standards-based servers , and the flexibility to connect almost anywhere in the world through an existing network

Obviously , VoIP is not immune to the dangers usually related with IP networks . Proposed solutions for VoIP security are already in the market , but these solutions must take into account the real-time constraint of voice service and their mechanisms should address possible attacks and overhead associated with it . Although VoIP technology have made the theft of telecommunications services less lucrative , VoIP technology has opened the door to new kinds of crimes . The U . S Department of Justice has gone on record as being concerned about the fast growth of VoIP communications services because they make surveillance and wiretapping difficult and can facilitate drug trafficking , organized crime and terrorism (Keegan , 24 September 1994 . Laura Parsky , a deputy assistant attorney general in the U . S Department of Justice , told investigators at a June 2004 Senate hearing that [i]f legal loopholes allow criminals to use new technologies to avoid law enforcement detection , they would use these technologies to coordinate terrorist attacks , to sell drugs throughout the United States and to pass along national security secrets to our enemies ' The hearing was held to consider changes to the proposed VoIP Regulatory Freedom Act , which , if passed , might require telecommunications providers to build back doors ' into VoIP networks that would allow for court-ed wiretaps to be successfully enforced

Attacks can be launched on the underlying network , the transport protocols , the VoIP devices (e .g , servers and gateways , the VoIP application , other related applications (e .g , Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol , DHCP , the underlying operating systems , and more . Vulnerabilities introduced in the design of the product will be a continuous concern , as will improper configuration and implementation In fact , the fundamental paradigm...