As Internet phone systems carve out ever-larger shares of the commercial market, some businesses are beginning to worry about how much information they’re giving away to the cable TV and telecom companies that provide Internet hook-ups.
One of the advantages of traditional land-line calls is they’re generally more secure. But if your employees are in the habit of discussing commercially sensitive topics while using a Voice-over-Internet-Protocol phone system or a hotel’s WiFi system while away, they may be exposing too much sensitive information to unwelcome listenersOpens a new window .
Cable and telecom internet service providers have become very good at picking up essential data from both conventional Internet browsing and from VoIP calls. They routinely monitor network traffic when it travels through TCP/UPD ports and gather, or “harvest,†critical information along the way.
As a user of VoIP services, you may already have found that you’re facing targeted advertising that relates to VoIP conversations you’ve had rather than any other Internet-related activity.The ISPs have become far more proficient using voice data as another way to target local and national advertising campaigns.
Who’s listening?
This raises the issue of who else may be listening in on your conversations and what they might be doing with that information. If the ISPs can use it, so can hackers. Bad actors are becoming more proficient at listening in on VoIP calls, especially if employees are using a local WiFi network.
Cybercrooks are most interested in information that can provide them with access to secure networks and this is data that might be disclosed in the course of a routine VoIP conversation. Employees who travel regularly, such as members of your sales team, are especially vulnerable because they often log on to free WiFi in hotels and airports. Many of these networks are relatively easy for bad actors to access.
One easy way to avoid these problems is to educate your employees about the potential threats, including when not to discuss sensitive information. But there still will be times when your workers will use your VoIP for important calls while on the move.
Using a VPN
Virtual Private NetworksOpens a new window – VPNs – are becoming a widely-used method for protecting companies from unwarranted surveillance. These are services that replace your actual IP address or location with an alternative. Apart from disguising your actual location, they also bring with them an added layer of security that can protect your VoIP calls from surveillance.
Paid-for VPN services are generally better quality and will offer multiple IP locations, letting the user switch between servers to find the most high-quality bandwidth.
The best policy is the decide upon a service that offers the widest range of potential options for IP locations and then advise employees to use this one when on the go.
It is worth including a VPN kill switchOpens a new window on your shopping list of VPN features — it can keep your connection secure even if the network connection drops.
Some computers will default back to the actual IP under this scenario, which will then expose activity again. It may not even be obvious to the user that this has happened.
Key takeaways:
- Cable TV and telecom companies that provide access to Internet services are harvesting more and more user data, not just from routine Internet browsing but now also from VoIP calls.
- There’s an ever-present danger that employees will disclose sensitive data to hackers and other bad actors during a VoIP call.
- There are specific risks caused by salespeople on the move who are used to accessing free WiFi networks and making VoIP calls on these.
- A good way to protect your voice network is to encourage the use of corporate-approved VPNs that screen much of your activity from listeners.
- Paid-for VPNs tend to be higher quality.