VoIP security barely crosses the minds of SMB customers |
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By Staff
25 Jan 2007 | SearchSMB.com |
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Despite the popularity of voice over IP (VoIP) networks among small businesses, few small- and mid-sized business (SMB) customers are even thinking about VoIP security.
Some will outlaw Skype and other consumer-level services from their networks for their lack of security. But security itself is too rarely mentioned and insufficiently integrated into SMB VoIP networks, according to some SMB customers.
And that's despite a recent survey by the Computing Technology Industry Association Inc. (CompTIA) that estimates one-third of SMBs will upgrade their phone systems this year, but only half of all SMBs believe VoIP security is adequate.
Denial-of-service and man-in-the-middle attacks are real possibilities, however, and smaller customers should lean on their value-added resellers (VARs) and service providers to help prevent them, according to the CompTIA.
The installed base of VoIP is too small to attract hackers in large numbers, some analysts said, so many customers focus more on preventing viruses and Trojans than on VoIP security. That leaves a security gap VoIP providers, security specialists and integrators should fill with their own security offerings, before the first high-profile VoIP hacks make customers regret they ever migrated.
The original version of this story ran on TechTarget.comsister site SearchSMB.com.
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