VoIP Security Risks Guide

Modern VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology has revolutionised corporate communications systems. It allows phone calls to be made over the Internet and internal networks instead of traditional phone lines. As more companies adopt VoIP technology, it has become essential to secure their communication systems.
In this blog, we will explore common threats to VoIP systems and how to protect against them, in detail.

As mentioned above, VoIP technology relies heavily on the Internet. This technology offers many advantages to businesses. It is more cost-effective than traditional telephone systems. It also offers additional features such as voicemail-to-email, call routing, video conferencing, advanced call analytics, and more.

However, communication systems, like any websites or applications you use daily, are vulnerable to cyber threats. Calls often contain important and confidential information such as customer data, financial accounts, etc. Without preventive security measures, communication systems can be exposed to attacks, putting customer data at risk of leakage and other problems, including:

As these risks become more serious and complex, communications security becomes more important.
In brief, VoIP communications security refers to the measures a company takes to protect its business information from unauthorized access, interruption, or modification.
These measures include encryption, multi-factor authentication, firewalls, and more.

The global VoIP market reached $29.95 billion in 2024. Forecasts indicate that this number will increase to $63.73 billion by 2031. With the continuous rise in demand for VoIP communication solutions, communication security will receive more attention from companies, making them more aware of the importance of security in light of increasing security threats.

For this reason, trusted network communication service providers are strengthening security measures to protect data privacy and prevent cyber threats.

The term ‘vishing’ refers to voice phishing, which occurs when attackers use phone calls to trick users into revealing sensitive information such as passwords or financial details. They often pretend to be legitimate entities such as banks or technical support.
It is one of the most common scams today, where fraudsters create a sense of urgency, for example by claiming there is an issue with the account, and then ask for the customer’s personal details, passwords or credit card numbers.
Victims may provide this information to scammers in good faith.

In toll fraud, attackers gain access to your company’s communication system and make long or international calls through the company’s network communication (VoIP) system.
Attackers may exploit weak passwords of some employees or system vulnerabilities. Once they successfully gain access, they can make expensive international calls, resulting in significant financial losses for the company.

This is a term used in cybersecurity that refers to the pre-attack phase of a cyberattack. During this phase, the attacker gathers as much information as possible about the target before launching the actual attack.
The main goal is to build a comprehensive and detailed picture and map of the potential victim. The more accurate the information the attacker collects, the higher the chances of a successful attack.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks occur when hackers send thousands or hundreds of thousands of simultaneous requests to computers and VoIP system servers, flooding the system and making it unable to respond to all those requests and making it unavailable to users.
Attackers often use networks of infected computers to launch these attacks, sending huge amounts of data to the targeted system, which can slow down or completely disrupt VoIP service, preventing the company from making or receiving calls during the attack.

Call spoofing refers to fraudsters interfering with a call, where they can modify, disrupt or listen in on the call. They can also add noise, distort voices or even change the content of the call.
It is worth noting that call spoofing is difficult to detect, as attackers use advanced techniques such as AI-powered voice synthesis, making it difficult for companies to identify this manipulation.

Hackers use various tools and techniques to intercept all data paths in the internal network, capturing and analysing data transmitted via the VoIP system.
By exploiting network vulnerabilities and intercepting this data, they can listen in on private conversations and collect users’ sensitive information and passwords.

It is the act of sending unwanted or unsolicited calls to users. These calls are often automated and used for voice phishing or advertisements. In some cases, SPIT is designed to trick users into revealing personal or sensitive information.
SPIT is a serious security threat to VoIP systems because it burdens them with unnecessary and annoying calls, which disrupts the system, reduces its efficiency, and wastes company time.

This blog covered the most common VoIP security threats. In our next blog, we’ll dive into the best practices for securing VoIP systems and reducing risk. We encourage you to continue with us as we build a comprehensive understanding of VoIP security.

Threats and risks of network communication systems (VoIP systems) You Need to Be Cautious About –Part 2

sources 1

Telsip — an all-in-one cloud communications platform that combines a cloud PBX, a cloud contact center, unified OMNI channels, and a WebRTC-powered softphone, with seamless CRM integration and professional support; it delivers intelligent call management, unified conversations, and real-time reports that enhance your team’s efficiency and your customers’ experience.