VoIP
VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol, also called VoIP (pronounced "vee-oh-eye-pee" or "voyp"), IP Telephony, Internet telephony, Broadband telephony, Broadband Phone and Voice over Broadband is the routing of voice conversations over the Internet or through any other IP-based network.
Protocols used to carry voice signals over the IP network are commonly referred to as Voice over IP or VoIP protocols. They may be viewed as commercial realizations of the experimental Network Voice Protocol (1973) invented for the ARPANET.
Voice over IP traffic can be deployed on any IP network, including those lacking a connection to the rest of the Internet, for instance on a local area network.
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VoIP Related Products
McAfee UTM Firewall (formerly Secure Computing SnapGear) is a complete office network-in-a-box Internet security appliance for small and medium-size businesses (SMBs). It features wide-area networking tools that you would normally only see with enterprise-class devices. Because the last thing SMBs need is another single-purpose security appliance to add to their network.
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The Rajant BreadCrumb LX is a rugged multiradio wireless transmitter-receiver that forms a mesh network (using InstaMesh) when used in conjunction with other BreadCrumb devices. This portable wireless mesh network node contains two radios and supports open-standard IEEE 802.11 a/b/g protocols to enable data, voice and video applications. Available radio configurations are 2.4GHz/900MHz, 2.4GHz/2.4GHz, 2.4GHz/4.9GHz and 2.4GHz/5.8GHz. This full featured LX can operate in extreme conditions and has several mounting options.
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VPN-1 Power, an integrated VPN-1 and FireWall-1 gateway, offers management capability, attack protection and traffic shaping technology. VPN-1 Power utilizes INSPECT, the industry''s most adaptive and intelligent inspection technology, to protect the privacy of business communications over the Internet while securing critical network resources against unauthorized access.
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VPN-1 UTM consolidates proven security functions including firewall, intrusion prevention, antivirus, antispyware, Web application firewall, and both IPSec and SSL VPN, within a single integrated solution.
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The Rajant BreadCrumb SE is a rugged pair of wireless transmitter-receivers that form a mesh network (using InstaMesh) when used in conjunction with other BreadCrumb devices. This portable batteryoperated wireless mesh network node supports pen-standard IEEE 802.11 protocols to enable data, voice and video applications.
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The Juniper Networks Integrated Security Gateways (ISG) are purpose-built, security solutions that leverage a fourth generation security ASIC, the GigaScreen3, along with high-speed microprocessors to deliver unmatched firewall and VPN performance.
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Radware award winning DefensePro is a real-time Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) and DoS protection device that protects your application infrastructure against known attacks and emerging zero-minute and non-vulnerability network attacks that cannot be detected by static signature IPS using behavioral based real-time signatures.
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The Rajant BreadCrumb ME2 is a rugged wireless transmitter-receiver that forms a mesh network (using InstaMesh) when used in conjunction with other BreadCrumb devices. This portable wireless mesh network node supports an open-standard IEEE 802.11 b/g radio with up to two antennas to enable data, voice and video applications and requires only a single switch to operate. A military version of ME2 device will supports FIPS 140-2.
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The Rajant BreadCrumb XL is a rugged pair of wireless transmitter-receivers that form a mesh network (using InstaMesh) when used in conjunction with other BreadCrumb devices. This portable wireless mesh network node supports open-standard IEEE 802.11 protocols to enable data, voice and video applications. This portable unit includes two (2) radios and requires only a single switch to operate.
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The Rajant BreadCrumb XLE is a rugged pair of wireless transmitter-receivers that form a mesh network (using InstaMesh) when used in conjunction with other BreadCrumb devices. The XLE includes an integrated video CODEC and external BNC connector for video. This portable wireless mesh network node supports open-standard IEEE 802.11 protocols to enable data, voice and video applications. This portable unit includes two (2) radios and requires only a single switch to operate.
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The Rajant BreadCrumb XLV is a rugged pair of wireless transmitter-receivers that form a mesh network (using InstaMesh) when used in conjunction with other BreadCrumb devices. This portable wireless mesh network node is specifically designed for vehicle use and can accept unfiltered power in the range of 6 to 40 volts DC. The XLV supports open-standard IEEE 802.11 protocols to enable data, voice and video applications. This portable unit includes two (2) radios and requires only a single switch to operate.
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The Rajant BreadCrumb XLR is a rack mountable pair of wireless transmitter-receivers that form a mesh network (using InstaMesh) when used in conjunction with other BreadCrumb devices. This portable wireless mesh network node is specifically designed for rack mounting and can accept unfiltered power in the range of 6 to 40 volts DC. The XLR supports open-standard IEEE 802.11 protocols to enable data, voice and video applications. This rack mountable unit includes two (2) radios and requires only a single switch to operate.
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The Check Point Software Blade Architecture supports a complete and increasing selection of Software Blades, each delivering a modular security gateway or security management function. Because Software Blades are modular and moveable, Software Blades enable users to efficiently and quickly tailor Security Gateway and Management functionality to specific and changing security needs. New blades are quickly licensed as needed without the addition of new hardware.
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AEP Net is an independently assured encryptor that protects IP traffic across networks. AEP Net provides both data confidentiality and source authentication for network traffic enabling high confidence Virtual Private Network (VPN) communications. AEP's solution has a proven track record of protecting National and International classified networks.
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The AEP Net Remote extends the security, functions and features of AEP Net into the remote access domain. Like its big brother the AEP Net Remote provides both data confidentiality and source authentication for IP network traffic.
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Comprehensive SIP-aware application delivery controller (ADC) for application vendors, Telecom Equipment Manufacturers (TEMs) and System Integrators (SIs).
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VoIP Related Industry News
US 'right to spy' on cyberspace gets approval Wiretapping on internet and VoIP given green light... US broadband providers and internet phone services must comply with wiretapping requirements designed for the traditional phone network, the Federal Communications Commission said in a preliminary decision yesterday.
The FCC decision is a major step toward regulations designed to help police and spy agencies eavesdrop on all forms of high-speed internet access, including cable modems, wireless,......
[more] Ensure security best practice when deploying new technologies Managers must balance the benefits of new technologies with the security risks they pose. Use this advice to maintain your security architecture's standards and ensure that it isn't compromised by newly integrated technologies. Topnotch companies wield cutting-edge technology to stay ahead of the pack. But with the breakneck speed at which technologies roll out, an enterprise's supposedly robust security architecture could quickly bec......
[more] Corporations Get Ready for Wi-Fi Universities and health care organizations have led the way in Wi-Fi installations -- and done the bleeding that takes place on the cutting edge. Now, U.S. corporations are learning from these leaders and evaluating how wireless LANs (WLANs) can benefit their companies.
Corporate IT executives came to the Angelbeat Mobility, Security, VoIP Executive Briefing on Monday to hear from vendors of wireless monitoring and security applications hoping to get their busi......
[more] IT industry facing a turbulent 2005 IDC predicts blood on the floor as seismic technological shifts rock the status quo The IT industry will suffer a period of "enormous turbulence" next year, marked by seismic technological shifts and vendor consolidation as firms including Microsoft look to make major acquisitions.
Analyst firm IDC has predicted that the industry will face a "technological realignment" in 2005.
"Beneath the surface of an almost boringly moderate growth rate of six per cent,......
[more] WiFi Units Hit Record Volume in 1Q05; Revenue up 20% Despite plummeting ASPs from fierce vendor competition, worldwide wireless LAN equipment revenue rose 20% to $767.6 million between 4Q04 and 1Q05, and 12.2 million units were shipped, the highest quarterly volume to date, according to Infonetics Research's quarterly market share service, Wireless LAN Equipment. Revenue is expected to rise another 2% to $779.6 million by 1Q06, and will hit $3.6 billion by 2008, as wireless LAN products continu......
[more] Yahoo rings up VoIP purchase Yahoo has acquired DialPad Communications, a six-year-old startup whose software sets up calls over the Internet for a fraction of the price of regular telephone service.
No financial terms of the deal were announced.
Yahoo said it will use DialPad to expand its product offerings in the fast-growing area of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
DialPad has 40 employees and competes with several other startups that route calls from computers into the phone system......
[more] Desktop port proliferation a security risk? Software maker Opera's decision to support BitTorrent has added to some security experts' worries that applications which require open connections through firewalls are becoming increasingly popular.
Last week, the Norwegian company revealed that its latest technical preview adds support for downloading BitTorrent files, or torrents. BitTorrent, a peer-to-peer protocol that speeds files sharing by allowing every client to serve up pieces of a large f......
[more] Vernier Networks Extends NAM to Remote Users and VoIP Phones Vernier Networks today announced the addition of the EdgeWall Rx network access management appliance to its EdgeWall product family. EdgeWall Rx extends network access management to remote users, significantly reducing the risk of security threats and intrusions from external devices and limiting access to sensitive assets.
The company also strengthened the entire EdgeWall line by adding support for VoIP phones and bolstering existi......
[more] Hackers to attack VoIP in two years Hackers will attack voice over IP (VoIP) telephone conversations with spam and malicious code within two years, equipment manufacturer Nortel has claimed.
Companies using VoIP and other multimedia services, such as videoconferencing, should plan to defend against unsolicited adverts appearing mid-conversation, the company said.
Atul Bhatnager, VP of enterprise networks, said: "VoIP attacks are still at an early stage but as hackers become more savvy you'll......
[more] From Hacker to Protector Now just 25, Ejovi Nuwere has already had plenty of experience in computer security. His new company aims to make Net calling safer. For many technically talented teens, computer hacking brings about a first brush with law enforcement. For Ejovi Nuwere, it was a ticket out of the poverty-ridden, sometimes violent streets of New York's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
What started as a hobby at the age of 15 led in time to a computer security job with Lehman Brothers, a......
[more] Skype could pose security problems for companies, analysts say The growing popularity of Skype Technologies SA's free Internet telephony software could soon pose the same kind of security challenges for companies that other peer-to-peer (P2P) software technologies have created in recent years, according to security experts.
The warning comes after the disclosure this week of two critical flaws in Skype's software, one of which could allow malicious hackers to take complete control of compromi......
[more] AirMagnet plans beefed up RF planning tool in Q1 Wireless LAN security vendor AirMagnet Inc will launch a new version of its Surveyor software in the first quarter of 2006 in an indication that WLAN is going mainstream, with enterprise concerns moving from blocking rogue access points to managing network rollouts and optimising performance. Surveyor was launched in April 2004 and is currently at version 2.5, said Wade Williamson, product manager at the Sunnyvale, California-based vendor.
"It's......
[more] Industry group agrees on high-speed Wi-Fi proposal An industry group seeking common ground on the emerging IEEE 802.11n high-speed wireless LAN specification has agreed on a compromise proposal that may form the basis of a final standard.
The joint proposal group, which includes backers of all the major factions in the fight over how to boost the speed and range of WLANs, late Wednesday approved a proposal by a unanimous online vote with two abstentions, according to Bill McFarland, CTO at At......
[more] 802.11n spec ready for first vote The first draft of the Wi-Fi 802.11nspec will finally be voted on this week, after much wrangling between opposing interests of members in the IEEE.
The compromise draft, created by a joint sub-committee, is expected to pass, according to Bill McFarland, a member of the IEEE and CTO at Atheros.
The original debate divided the group into two camps. Some believed that ratification of the specification was taking too long, causing the EWC (Enhanced Wireless Cons......
[more] Cambridge prof warns of Skype botnet threat Voice-over-IP apps could be used to cloak networks of zombies, used to launch denial of service attacks, a Cambridge professor has warned.
Armies of ordinary PCs - "botnets" - that have been infected by a virus and put under malicious control, could be controlled and orchestrated by messages hidden in VoIP traffic generated by programs such as Skype, warned Jon Crowcroft, Marconi professor of communications systems at Cambridge University.
Denial-o......
[more] AOL developing workplace version of AIM America Online is developing a version of its instant messaging (IM) service for workplace use, an attempt to give the consumer-oriented AIM the security, collaboration and IT management features businesses require, company plans to announce this week. Developed with online meeting specialist WebEx Communications, the new AIM Pro will become available in this year's second quarter. Pricing details haven't been finalized, but it will probably be offered on......
[more] What future for the wireless Square Mile? Which applications will prove a hit for the City wi-fi users? The City of London has taken the wraps off an ambitious project that will see the Square Mile entirely connected by wi-fi access.For City workers and tourists alike, the project will mean continuous wi-fi access from an area stretching from Blackfriars Bridge to the Fann Street Wildlife Garden and Liverpool Street station.The City wi-fi project will be a five-year collaboration between the Cor......
[more] IT warned against Skype hype A new report has warned businesses to take security into account before deciding to allow the Skype VoIP service to run free on a company network.Debunking the Hype About Skype, from the Butler Group, agrees that the service can cut long-distance calling charges for many businesses, but only at expense of messing with security policies.Security issues include the difficulty of managing the application from a central point, and the fact that call encryption makes it......
[more] SurfControl Enables Detection and Control Over Unauthorized Skype Implementations SurfControl, the world leader in Internet content protection, today announced its ability to detect and control unauthorized Skype usage on the corporate network.Skype is a subscription-based Internet client that enables users to make calls anywhere in the world at the cost of a local call. An amorphous application, Skype uses indiscernible encryption and is capable of working through virtually any network address......
[more] Survey finds that U.K. enterprises suffer costly breaches While the number of breaches has dropped, the costliness has increased The number of security breaches at large U.K. companies dropped by half over the last two years as larger budgets have been allocated to that area, according to a government-commissioned study released Tuesday. However, the incidents that do occur are taking a heavier financial toll. The survey estimated that the cost of security incidents to U.K. businesses is 50 perc......
[more] Spyware evolving faster than viruses The evolution of spyware is outpacing that of viruses, with some software resetting itself hourly to evade detection, security experts warned today at Infosec Europe.Security firm Webroot recorded a dramatic rise in spyware in the past 12 months, almost all of it aimed at harvesting financial data that could be used by third parties.Experts have also warned that the next target for such malware will be VoIP applications such as Skype. "Voice is definite......
[more] Security pros give VoIP the brush-off Infosec Delegates at Infosec gave a resounding dismissal to a motion supporting VoIP deployment. The debate, "this house believes that the business advantages of VoIP outweigh the security concerns" ended in a fairly unanimous thumbs down, which implied security professionals don't think the technology is ready for big money corporate rollouts.The proposers of the motion, a pair of technology consultants, said the cost benefits from switching to V......
[more] Phishers move in on VoIP Two separate phishing attacks this week have used a new technique in which VoIP systems are used to imitate a bank's call centre. The phishing emails are fairly standard, warning of a problem with the user's account and asking them to get in touch.But the emails give a phone number leading to a VoIP account, with an operator on the end pretending to be from the bank in question or an automated system asking for account details."We have seen two separate VoIP attack......
[more] AirMagnet Rolls Out Voice-Over-Wi-Fi Analysis Tool The network analysis tool helps network managers detect voice problems over wireless networks. AirMagnet today announced the AirMagnet VoFi Analyzer, a network analysis tool that helps network managers detect voice problems over wireless networks. The VoFi Analyzer detects problems in real time, includes alarms and real-time statistical analysis, and uncovers roots causes. Its includes quality of service (QoS) features for seamless roaming, jitt......
[more] New AirMagnet Solution Selected as Best of Interop 2006 Finalist AirMagnet Inc., the leader in wireless network assurance, announced the AirMagnet Vo-Fi Analyzer is a finalist in the Best of Interop Awards in the VoIP and Collaboration category. The AirMagnet Vo-Fi Analyzer, the pioneering voice-over-wireless-LAN (VoWLAN) analysis tool that lets network managers identify voice problems and pinpoint their root causes, debuted at this week's Interop tradeshow. The AirMagnet Vo-Fi Analyzer proacti......
[more] VoIP may be next for archiving regulations IT chiefs were have been warned to prepare for the possibility of new corporate governance rules that would require them to keep records of voice-over-IP (VoIP) conversations alongside email, instant messaging and other forms of communication.Speaking at the Symantec user event in San Francisco last week, Jeremy Burton, a senior vice-president at the security specialist, said, "Financial institutions in the US already need to keep v......
[more] Skype patches medium-risk security hole Skype is advising users to upgrade to a more recent version of its VoIP software to fix a security bug reported late last week by a security researcher in New Zealand. The bug affects several versions of the Skype client for Windows and could allow an attacker to download a file from an affected PC without permission. Skype rated the vulnerability "medium risk." It stems from a flaw in the way the Skype client handles a type of URI, or Uniform Re......
[more] Skype - is your version secure? Businesses using the popular voice over IP application Skype should make sure employees are logging on with the latest version, according to analyst house Gartner.A recent vulnerability in the software allows an attacker to steal a file from a victim's PC, provided the victim has visited a malicious website and the attacker knows the file's location.The latest version of Skype fixes this security hole but the software does not require users to upgrade before plac......
[more] Wi-fi: Coming soon on board U.S. airplanes Air travelers starved for in-flight Internet access may soon find solace, thanks to a Colorado company that wants to offer Wi-fi service aloft. AirCell said Monday that it plans to use a newly acquired radio spectrum license to offer "affordable" broadband service aboard commercial airplanes. Formed in 1991, the company already sells satellite-based voice and data services to the general aviation sector, primarily the corporate jet set. In th......
[more] Miami man arrested for theft of VoIP calls A Miami businessman helped by a professional hacker penetrated the networks of Internet phone providers to connect hundreds of thousands of free calls, federal prosecutors alleged Wednesday. After obtaining free access to the networks, Edwin Andres Pena charged customers more than $1 million to route calls for them, according to FBI complaints made public with Pena's arrest in Florida.Pena paid $20,000 to hacker Robert Moore, of Spokane, Wash., accordi......
[more] VoIP hacker nets a cool million A Miami businessman has been accused of breaking into the computers of VoIP service providers and reselling stolen minutes to unsuspecting customers.Edwin Andres Pena allegedly netted over $1m as a result of the scam.According to prosecutors, Pena used brute force attacks to flood VoIP providers with test calls in order to discover working prefix codes used authorise calls on the network.Working with a hacker, Pena is accused of identifying vulnerable computers a......
[more] Wi-fi mobiles to be flying high by 2010? Sales of mobile phones with both cellular and wi-fi capability will be booming by 2010, according to a study by market research company In-Stat.Wi-fi is widely used by consumers to connect their PCs and certain handheld devices to the internet but until very recently wi-fi has been absent from the world of mobile phones.Cellular service providers initially saw wi-fi as a threat to sales of cellular data services such as weather reports and stock quotes.......
[more] Cyber-criminals switch to VoIP 'vishing' Traditional web-based phishing attacks are evolving into sophisticated phone scams as cyber-criminals attempt to keep one step ahead of detection, security experts have warned.Secure Computing reported today that its engineers have been tracking news group sites and open disclosure discussion groups which are buzzing with talk about a VoIP telephony version of phishing dubbed 'vishing'.The new technique has been used by criminals to harvest details of th......
[more] Open source phone system open to DoS attack Hackers could launch DoS attacks against telephone systems, new research has revealed. According to the findings of security company Internet Security Systems (ISS), two flaws in the open source public branch exchange (PBX) system Asterisk could allow hackers to disrupt a business's phone system or VoIP gateway by flooding the system with bogus calls, according to the ISS X-Force Threat Analysis Service, which discovered the vulnerability.The bugs were......
[more] Wi-Fi phones ring changes in telephony sector The global Wi-Fi phone market is poised to enjoy stellar growth this year as enterprises and consumers ramp up voice over wireless Lan deployments.Data published today by Infonetics Research suggests that the Wi-Fi telephony sector jumped 116 per cent between 2004 and 2005 to $125.5m, and is projected to more than double in 2006. Infonetics predicted that Wi-Fi phone revenue will more or less double, and even nearly triple, every year through 2009,......
[more] Skype to introduce Wi-Fi phones Four manufacturers plan to offer handsets for VoIP telephony service this quarter. Open wireless Internet hot spots will soon serve as virtual phone booths, as four manufacturers plan to introduce Wi-Fi handsets for Skype's popular VoIP telephony service this quarter.The phones can be used at open Wi-Fi access points that do not require browser authentication, and come preloaded with Skype software, Skype said Thursday. The move is designed to give Skype users the......
[more] AirMagnet analyser helps companies find voice AirMagnet has launched Vo-Fi Analyzer, software that can analyze a wireless LAN's fitness to carry an enterprise's VoIP calls. With the software running on a notebook PC, a network architect can walk around the places where employees work and detect weak coverage spots, packet latency that could cause calls to break up or drop, and even problems in an IP PBX. Voice over wireless LAN is just getting on to enterprises' to-do lists, mostly in organisat......
[more] Asterisk: A VoIP Hacker's Best Friend Possibly the most disturbing news out of the Black Hat security conference last week was how Asterisk, the open source PBX, is being increasingly used by hackers in a wide variety of hard-to-stop VoIP hacks. Everyone, from home users to corporate networks, could become a target.Talks at the show explained just how easily an Asterisk-based PBX can be used to launch attacks, notably "vishing" attacks, in which hackers use VoIP calls instead of phony......
[more] WiFi to cover London’s Square Mile London's Square Mile financial district will have near total WiFi coverage by the end of this year.The wireless network will be installed in street furniture such as lampposts and street signs. The City of London Corporation, which commissioned the network, says it will be the first of its kind in the world with full roaming capability.Traditional wireless links comprise standalone hotspots, but the City's new platform will be a mesh network that enables conti......
[more] VOIP presents major security risk, expert warns Banks and other companies switching their phone systems to VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) are making themselves vulnerable to phishing attacks for which there are currently no effective detection or prevention tools, a security researcher warned Wednesday. "People will be able to penetrate bank networks and hijack their phone lines," said an independent security researcher, known by his pseudonym The Grugq, in an interview. VOIP is......
[more] Analysing voice on the wireless network AirMagnet, a provider of solutions in the wireless network assurance space, has recently announced the availability of the AirMagnet VoFi Analyzer. The software provides automatic analysis of encrypted voice being carried over a WiFi network. AT&T is one of the first customers to test the solution, with the company's networking engineering and performance analysis lab using the VoFi Analyzer to monitor Voice-over-IP (VoIP) traffic on the wireless netw......
[more] Top security priorities revealed Some 'same old, same old' but a few new worries too IT managers are being warned of the threats that are likely to keep them awake nights in 2007, with laptop security, VoIP and the contentious issue of mobile phone viruses all featuring on one organisation's 'hit-list'.The Sans Institute says the greatest concern for businesses should be the security of their laptops as more companies replace desktops with notebooks. The mix of sensitive data being taken out of......
[more] Akonix Offers Skype Traffic Management Though VoIP company Skype has promised a more enterprise-friendly, manageable version of its popular service, Akonix Systems has announced an appliance designed to monitor and manage users of the consumer version behind the corporate firewall.The company today announced L7 Skype Manager, an appliance that brings management features similar to those offered by other appliances in its L7 line, which is primarily aimed at instant messaging security and compli......
[more] Anti-virus technique adds muscle to PC lock-down Sophos has developed an innovative anti-virus-based approach to locking down PCs To identify malware, anti-virus products use a signature file that acts as a fingerprint of the virus or worm. Sophos has now applied the same principle to legitimate applications, giving IT directors a simple way to lock down desktop PCs.The company's anti-virus and application control product lets system administrators selectively block unauthorised VoIP, peer-......
[more] Skype to release Symbian client by year end Skype software compatible with the Symbian mobile phone operating system will hit the market by the end of the year, despite rumors that Skype had halted development of the product, an executive said during the Symbian Smartphone Show in London. "Hopefully before Christmas we can satisfy a lot of questions about where Skype is on mobile phones," said Eric Lagier, head of mobile development at Skype, on Tuesday. Recent reports describing the......
[more] Zero day attacks rise to top of SANS Top 20 The respected SANS Institute has identified the sudden rise in ‘zero day' attacks as the most important threat trend in its 2006 Top Twenty Vulnerabilities list. In the last year or so, the zero day attack had gone from a phenomenon talked about in the abstract to something that was now a regular occurrence in everyday applications, the organisation said. Such vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office had tripled from last year , with 45 serious or cr......
[more] Top hacker targets named Internet Explorer, web apps and VoIP make the list... Microsoft's Internet Explorer has been named one of the internet's top 20 hacker targets by a leading security organisation.The SANS Institute also said Microsoft Office and Windows Libraries and Services are some of the most vulnerable applications available on computers today.But Microsoft was not alone in the annual list - Apple's Mac OS X was also catalogued, along with "configuration weaknesses" in Unix......
[more] Security group ranks human error as top security worry The SANS Institute has some controversial advice for computer security professionals looking to lock down their networks: spear-phish your employees.That's what the U.S. Military Academy at West Point did in 2004 to a group of 512 cadets, selected at random for a test called the Carronade. The cadets were sent a bogus e-mail that looked like it came from a fictional colonel named Robert Melvillle, who claimed to be with the academy's Office......
[more] Cities spar over metro Wi-Fi claims UK cities are expanding their plans for Wi-Fi - but each accuse the others of betraying the dream of free, open access. Bristol has signed up with Cityspace to extend a 3km zone which offers free Wi-Fi to all comers, and supports council workers. Islington is extending its Technology Mile, which covers the A1 road, also with Cityspace. Meanwhile Westminster is leading BT's plan for twelve Wireless Cities, announced in May. The scheme extends a BT system using......
[more] VoIP - open season for hackers Sensitive data sent using VoIP is vulnerable to attack because call centres are failing to secure their networks robustly enough, according to new research.Customers' private details could be easily hacked into using the wiretapping method with a staggering 7 out of 10 calls open to attack, said security company Scanit, which audited data transfer at various busy call centres and service providers.It found lax security for networks at call centres which deal with......
[more] London hotspots fail VoIP test Almost three quarters of wireless hotspots in Central London cannot currently support wireless VoIP calls, according to a test by a wireless monitoring company.According to the survey by AirMagnet, only 30 per cent of wireless-enabled locations are currently able to support more than one simultaneous VoIP call.The company said that this leaves the majority of hotspots in the UK unable to support the predicted boom in wireless VoIP services, exposing users to patch......
[more] Malware wars: Are hackers on top? The money made from malware is eclipsing the revenue of anti-virus vendors, a leading net security vendor claims. Raimund Genes, CTO of anti-malware at Trend Micro, cites FBI figures that IT security problems cost the economy $62bn last year against IDC estimates that the anti-malware market was worth $26bn in 2005.The FBI figures include the cost of clean-up operations, not just the profits accrued by the bad guys. Even taking this into account Genes reckons c......
[more] Weigh the pros and cons of VoIP over wireless Voice over IP (VoIP) technology allows companies to cut the telco cord and make phone calls over the internet. Now, with VoIP over wireless - also called VoW, VoWiFi, wVoIP, and a number of other acronyms - organisations can cut all the cords. Numerous vendors are offering Wi-Fi IP phones that operate on the same 802.11 technologies used for wireless networks.According to a study from Infonetics Research, sales of Wi-Fi IP phones will likely reach $3......
[more] Is Microsoft set to take over the VoIP space? Past experience shows that once Microsoft sets its sights on a technology, it often comes to dominate the market. Will Redmond nudge current VoIP vendors off the playing field? Deb Shinder takes a look at the software giant's plans for VoIP. When Microsoft gets into the game, other companies start to worry-and with good reason. Past experience shows that once the software giant sets its sights on a technology, it often comes to dominate the market,......
[more] Deloitte: Internet reaching capacity ‘Unrelenting growth in internet traffic' could overwhelm the internet in 2007, according to research by Deloitte.Igal Brightman, global managing partner at Deloitte, said: ‘The unrelenting growth in internet traffic during 2007 may overwhelm some of the internet's backbones: the terabit-capable pipes connecting continents.'The firm has released a report on the internet this week, which says that a lack of investment and the growth in heavier data......
[more] Smokers pose security risk Where there's smoke, there's a door. A U.K. security company is warning that smokers may impact IT security, leaving open doors that could let in intruders who could abuse a company's network. It may sound slightly far-fetched. But a penetration tester from NTA Monitor Ltd., a company based in Rochester, England, gained access to a professional services company outside London that way, said Roy Hills, technical director. The company hired NTA to test if it was possibl......
[more] AirMagnet bids to analyse Cisco WLAN analysis outfit AirMagnet has brought out software designed to work with Cisco's Unified Wireless Network. AirMagnet already has a version of the tool, which is called Enterprise Analyzer, for Aruba's Mobile Edge Architecture.Enterprise Analyzer for Cisco uses existing Cisco lightweight access points as sniffers to collect live network traffic data across all the Wi-Fi channels and analyse it for performance issues. At its core is signature detection softwar......
[more] Skype calls on FCC to open network access Skype petitioned the Federal Communications Commission earlier this week to force US mobile operators to loosen controls on what kinds of hardware and software can be connected to their networks. In a document dated 20 February, Skype asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to apply to the wireless industry what is known as the "Carterfone" rules, which would allow consumers to use devices and software of their choice on mobile phone......
[more] VoIP cost savings main draw for UK business A recent survey of 256 UK companies showed the most common driver in adopting VoIP systems was cost savings, chosen by 53 percent of respondents.Most organisations, however, based their decision to switch to VoIP on cost savings and business benefits.Improving customer service and encouraging flexible working, cross-company communication and teleworking were the next most popular reasons to use IP telephony.When it comes to technical concerns, securit......
[more] Spam makes users turn away from email The increasing volume of spam email messages is driving users to look for alternative media such as instant messaging and low cost VoIP calls, analyst firm IDC predicts in a new study."Spam volumes are growing faster than expected due to the success of image-based spam in bypassing antispam filters and of email sender identity spoofing in getting higher response rates," said Mark Levitt, program vice president for IDC's Collaborative Computing and......
[more] VoIP security falling behind technological advances A new study has found that a vast majority of UK businesses are convinced that rapid upgrades in development and usage of voice and instant messaging services are causing an increased security risk.Surveying nearly 300 UK companies, Infosecurity Europe found that 93 per cent of respondents felt that instant messaging and VoIP security measures were now noticeably lagging.The research found that many businesses are now experiencing data leakage......
[more] AirMagnet’s VoFi Analyzer Named Finalist for Best of Interop Awards AirMagnet Inc., the award-winning leader in wireless network assurance solutions, today announced that AirMagnet VoFi Analyzer, the most comprehensive solution for ensuring quality and reliability associated with Voice-over-WLAN deployments, was named a finalist for the Best of Interop Awards in the category of VoIP and Collaboration. The staff of CMP Technology's Network Computing magazine selected AirMagnet from a field of ne......
[more] Wireless security: Balancing act Organisations need to weigh the convenience of wireless networking against the risks to the integrity of their IT systems. Steve Gold reports.A quick glance around any high-street IT store will reveal that wireless networking - commonly referred to as WiFi - has taken off in a big way. It's now possible to buy a data-accelerated 802.11g WiFi-enabled broadband router for around £50.Suddenly it's possible for an employee of even smaller firms to go out and b......
[more] AirMagnet VoFi Analyzer Wins Best of Interop Award AirMagnet Inc., the award-winning leader in wireless network assurance solutions, today announced that AirMagnet VoFi Analyzer, the most comprehensive solution for ensuring quality and reliability associated with Voice-over-WLAN deployments, won the Best of Interop Award in the category of VoIP and Collaboration. "The Best of Interop Awards are always an indicator of the most innovative and exciting offerings in these product categories, a......
[more] Phishing sites doubled last month April saw a doubling in the number of unique phishing sites, according to a report by industry association the Anti-Phishing Working Group.The number of unique sites detected by the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) rose to 55,643 in April 2007, a massive jump from the 20,871 seen in March, according to the April Phishing Activity Trends report.Researchers from internet fraud prevention company MarkMonitor said the sharp increase was in part due to phishers pu......
[more] Attackers get chatty on VoIP The hacker attacks happening via Skype will become more severe and sophisticated as businesses start adopting VoIP technologies, analysts say The recent spate of malware attacks propagating throughout the user base of the Skype Internet calling system illustrates a broader trend toward cyber-criminals moving to take advantage of VoIP platforms as they become increasingly popular. Security researchers tracking the latest pack of worm viruses to wriggle their way thro......
[more] Consumer-tech use threatens corporate security The use of consumer-based technology such as web email, instant messaging, smartphones and games consoles by employees is one of the most significant threats to corporate IT security. Analyst companies Forrester and Gartner have both warned this week that the entrance of consumer technologies into the enterprise is impossible to eliminate and challenges traditional security models.Consumer-based communications tools such as Hotmail, instant messagin......
[more] Will Postini help Google win over businesses? Google's $625m (£308m) acquisition of email security specialist Postini appears to be further proof that the search giant wants enterprises to buy into its vision of hosted applications. While there has been some interest in the potential of applications such as Google Mail and Docs & Spreadsheets to provide the kind of collaborative working opportunities currently unavailable in Microsoft Exchange and Office, IT professionals are still extr......
[more] Postini to boost Gmail's enterprise appeal Google's proposed acquisition of email security firm Postini will boost the credibility of the search giant's Gmail offering among enterprises, Gartner predicts.The analyst firm noted that Google's agreed offer of $625m in cash for Postini, which represents a price premium of close to 10-times revenue, was a relatively high price to pay.Gartner describes Postini as one of the "most successful" of the hosted email hygiene vendors, competing pr......
[more] Former Spammer: 'I Know I'm Going to Hell' "Ed," a retired spammer, built a considerable fortune sending e-mails that promoted pills, porn and casinos. At the peak of his power, Ed says he pulled in US$10,000 to $15,000 a week, storing the money in $20 bills in stacks of boxes.It was a life of greed and excess, one that preyed especially on vulnerable people hoping to score drugs or win money gambling on the Internet. From when he was expelled from high school at 17 until he quit his......
[more] Is 802.11n ready for the enterprise? The latest draft of the 802.11n wireless LAN standard looks to be enterprise-ready, but many businesses are wary about buying pre-standard equipment It's faster and has far greater range than current wireless LAN technology. And it's stable. So is the most recent draft of the 802.11n wireless LAN standard ready for enterprise adoption? Such products are widely available for consumers even though final ratification isn't expected for more than a year. However......
[more] Skype warns users of IM worm Skype users are under attack from a new worm that spreads through the VoIP company's chat feature. The attack begins when a user receives an instant message containing a link from someone in their contact list or an unknown Skype user, said Skype spokesman Villu Arak. There are several versions of the chat messages, which are "cleverly written" to fool users, Arak wrote on the Skype Heartbeat blog. The link appears to contain a JPEG photo file, but if clic......
[more] Skype worm leaves Sophos users unfazed Sophos, a world leader in IT security and control, says that a recent worm outbreak on the Skype network highlights the importance of proactive virus protection. The worm, which has been seen spreading via Skype's instant messaging system, has not managed to infect Sophos users who were proactively protected against the threat without requiring an update. The W32/Pykse-C worm (also known as Ramex, Skipi or Pykspa) spreads via Skype's chat system in a varie......
[more] Trojan horse dupes Skype users, steals usernames and passwords Skype Ltd. again warned users of its software that malicious code targeting the voice-over-IP (VoIP) and instant messaging service was on the prowl, the second such alert in the past five weeks. A Trojan horse posing as a Skype add-on is stealing log-on credentials, the company\'s online spokesman, Villu Arak, said yesterday in a blog posting. Calling itself Skype Defender, the malware installs if users download and run the executab......
[more] Adobe patches critical PDF vulnerability Adobe Systems Inc. patched its Reader and Acrobat programs today to fix a flaw that exposed most Windows XP users to exploits arriving in malicious PDF files. The patches are included in updates to Reader, the for-free PDF rendering utility, and Acrobat, Adobe's full-featured application; both have been tagged as Version 8.1.1. "Critical vulnerabilities have been identified in Adobe Reader and Acrobat that could allow an attacker who successfully ex......
[more] FatPipe Networks Is Granted a 5th Patent for Wide Area Network/Internet Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery FatPipe Networks(TM), the inventor and multiple patents holder of WAN optimization, redundancy and security products, announced today that it has successfully secured its fifth patent. The US patent number 7,269,143 protects the "tools and techniques used to combine routers to increase concurrency and redundancy in external network access," such as the Internet and other W......
[more] New cross-site scripting attack targets VoIP Security researchers have found a way to execute cross-site scripting attacks through VoIP clients, introducing a dangerous new threat almost no one is guarding against, according to vendor Secure Computing Corp. "It's simply the first time we've seen what's regarded as a Web 2.0 exploit ... being used against VoIP," said Paul Henry, vice president of strategic accounts at Secure Computing. "Few [people], if anyone, bother filtering th......
[more] Leopard's firewall a 'mess,' breaks Skype A security researcher has found that the firewall included with the latest Mac OS is actually a step back from Tiger's firewall and can prevent some programs from running Leopard's firewall is confusing, inconsistent, switched off by default, and incompatible with some applications, a security researcher said Friday after analyzing the new security tool. "This firewall is a mess," Rich Mogull, a security consultant and former Gartner analyst, s......
[more] Creating value from wireless security Mike Hong, product marketing manager at Foundry Networks, explains how to get the best value from selling wireless security beyond 802.11i For resellers advising their customers on security for wireless networks, it is important to be aware of the threats that exist and what current technology can do to protect against them. In 2004 the IEEE standards association ratified IEEE 802.11i - a set of standards designed to provide the strongest possible encryption......
[more] Researcher releases proof-of-concept VoIP hack Potential Trojan listens and records on the network or at the ISP level An expert has released a proof-of-concept program to show how easy it would be for criminals to eavesdrop on the VoIP-based phone calls of any company using the technology. Called SIPtap, the software is able to monitor multiple Voice-over-IP (VoIP) call streams, listening in and recording them for remote inspection as .wav files. All that the criminal would need would be to inf......
[more] UK net numbering project starts Staying in touch via phone or web could soon get easier as work starts on a way to unite the internet and the telephone network. When finished the UK's national Enum directory will make looking up net phone numbers like finding a website. Initially the directory will target the UK's net telephony networks so calls can cross between them more easily. But the directories are expected to one day hold details of the many different ways almost anyone can be contacted.......
[more] Fending off VoIP security problems I'm hearing more about new kinds of attacks on LANs, such as voice-over-IP attacks or exploits that use printers as a source of attack. How can LAN security help me prevent those attacks? It's absolutely true that these kinds of attacks are on the rise. In fact, the SANS Institute recently listed client-side attacks as one of today's most critical vulnerabilities. While it may be foolhardy for any of us to think we can fully prevent such attacks, you certainly......
[more] Regulator forces VoIP firms to connect emergency calls Ofcom has ruled that all VoIP providers that connect to the UK public switched telephone network (PSTN), must modify their systems to allow 999 or 112 telephone calls to be made, if they don't already do so. "As new voice services develop and become more mainstream, regulation must evolve too," said Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards. "In the future, consumers will be confident that, if they can make calls to ordinary national......
[more] Heavily armed cops raid IM chat A California family that found their apartment surrounded by more than a dozen heavily SWAT armed officers are among the latest victims of swatting, a crime designed to elicit an emergency response by reporting a bogus 911 call. Officers from the Salinas Police Department rushed to the apartment last Wednesday after receiving a report from someone claiming to be a 15-year-old boy saying three men wielding AK-47 assault weapons were trying to break into his apartm......
[more] VoIP vulnerabilities increasing, but not exploits The threats against voice over IP (VoIP) are numerous and seem to be growing, but the technology probably won't suffer crippling attacks in 2008. The potential danger is very real. VoIP is susceptible to the many exploits that networks generally are heir to -- denial of service, buffer overflows and more. VoIP PBXs are servers on corporate networks and are only as secure as the networks themselves. In addition, there are many voice-specific atta......
[more] Spam your printer from the Web? Researcher shows how Aaron Weaver has made a discovery the world could probably do without: He's found a way to spam your printer from the Web. By using a little-known capability found in most Web browsers, Weaver can make a Web page launch a print job on just about any printer on a victim's network. The Web site could print annoying ads on the printer and theoretically issue more dangerous commands, like telling the printer to send a fax, format its hard drive,......
[more] Group points to VoIP flaw in DSL home gateway A flaw in a DSL home gateway could lead broadband users to divulge personal information over the phone to someone they erroneously believe is calling from their bank, according to a group of self-styled ethical hackers. BT's Home Hub, issued to the company's UK broadband subscribers, has an authentication vulnerability that enables a we site rigged with malicious JavaScript to initiate a phone call, according to the group, GNUCitizen. "We can t......
[more] Skype pulls features in face of critical flaw Skype has temporarily disabled a feature that allows hackers to hackers to exploit vulnerabilities in it VoIP software. However, it has not responded to claims of a second, potentially more serious vulnerability that could allow attackers could target Skype users at public wireless hot spots. Last week, noted Israeli researcher Aviv Raff had spelled out what he called a "cross-zone scripting vulnerability" in Skype that could be leveraged......
[more] German police Skype-hacking leaked German police have hired a company to create Trojans capable of capturing traffic from Skype and SSL, leaked documents appear to show. The two scanned documents , which appear on the Wikileaks website in their German form, are difficult to verify, but one appears to describe how a security company, Digitask, was asked to create a "Skype Capture Unit" based around Trojans planted on targeted PCs covertly transferring data to a remote server. "As......
[more] Skype plugs critical cross-zone scripting holeSkype plugs critical cross-zone scripting hole Skype Ltd. today patched a critical vulnerability that forced it to dump several features from its VoIP and chat software to prevent attackers from hijacking Windows PCs. In a security advisory issued Tuesday, Skype said it fixed the underlying flaw publicized by Israeli researcher Aviv Raff nearly three weeks ago. The vulnerability, which Raff called a cross-zone scripting bug, could be exploited with......
[more] VoIP phone phreaked by security hole Researchers have discovered a serious vulnerability in the web interface used to control a commonly-found VoIP phone, SNOM Technology's model 320. Attackers need the IP address of the phone being targeted to start the attack, but assuming they have this they can use a cross-site scripting approach to hack the phone's built-in management interface, allowing a range of unwelcome activities. These include stealing or tampering with phone logs and address book,......
[more] Cisco plugs VoIP malware loophole Cisco rushed out a brace of security on Thursday to defend against potentially dangerous exploits via its VoIP kit, including the possibility of malicious code being injected into vulnerable networks. The twin advisories from the network giant cover a range of vulnerabilities in Cisco IP Phones and its Unified Communications Manager (UCM) call management software.A range of Cisco 7900 Series IP Phones are subject to multiple flaws, some of which may lend themse......
[more] E-scammers trashing reputations Phishers, cyber-squatters, and other online fraudsters continued their assault on well-known corporate brands over the last 12 months, increasing the burden on the companies being targeted and further frustrating consumers. According to MarkMonitor's annual "brand-jacking" report -- which attempts to gauge the level of damage being extracted on corporate reputations by online scammers via schemes like phishing -- problems only intensified last year for......
[more] Cisco hops onto patching treadmill Cisco has taken a leaf out of Microsoft's book by adopting a regular patch release cycle. However, the change will apply only to security bugs involving its core IOS software and not all its products. Starting on 26 March, Cisco will release bundles of IOS security advisories on the fourth Wednesday of March and September in each calendar year.The networking giant gave itself room for manoeuvre by reserving the right to publish out of sequence patches in cases......
[more] UK's most popular Wi-Fi router defaults to insecurity From the folks at security think tank GNUCitizen comes yet another demonstration of the insecurity that's present by default in the UK's most popular home broadband router. By default, the BT Home Hub, which is manufactured by Thomson/Alcatel, uses a weak algorithm to generate keys used for locking down a Wi-Fi network. So weak, in fact, that Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) keys can be predicted in just 80 guesses on average. GNU has written a......
[more] Cisco warns on IP telephony flaws Unified Communications Manager contains multiple vulnerabilities which could to a denial of service attack against an organisation's VoIP network, Cisco has admitted. Cisco Unified Communications Manager, one of the most popular IP telephony products in the market, contains multiple denial of service vulnerabilities, the company admitted in a security advisory on Wednesday. The vulnerabilities could be exploited to interrupt voice services, Cisco said. This can......
[more] Corporate Email Outsourcing: The Perks and Pitfalls For most employees, email is a fast and efficient means for sharing information with co-workers and clients alike. But for IT managers, email is often an unruly beast that gobbles up time and precious IT resources while exposing a company to security risks and legal liabilities. So it's no wonder that an increasing number of enterprises are outsourcing email-management duties to a third-party provider. In fact, Gartner Inc. estimates that 80 p......
[more] Radware Optimizes VoIP Network Reliability for Virtual PBX Radware, a provider of integrated application delivery solutions for business-smart networking, has announced that Virtual PBX, a developer and supplier of hosted PBX services, has deployed its AppDirector. Virtual PBX has deployed AppDirector, Radware’s application delivery controllers (ADC), to “scale its Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) infrastructure and build a fault tolerant session initiation protocol (SIP) proxy se......
[more] Seeing through the VoIP security hype There’s a lot of debate around the security of converged communications at the moment; discussions of new and existing threats bringing down the “business critical” voice network when it hits the converged network on which everything rides. As an organisation that has been using a Cisco converged network for VoIP and, indeed, the even more critical streams we use for radio broadcasting, the security aspect of this is something we think of as paramount. Howev......
[more] ICANN: Meddling with DNS poses security problem The interception of Internet traffic to snoop on phone calls or track surfers' behavior is a hot topic -- but what's keeping members of ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee up at night is the interception of traffic to and from sites that don't even exist. They explained why in a session at ICANN's public meeting in Paris on Monday. There are still a few possible domain names out there that have not yet been registered, and if you acc......
[more] Radware Apps to Protect Vs. SSL Attacks, VoIP Misuse Radware, a company that offers integrated application delivery solutions for business-smart networking, announced today that it’s launched its “APSolute Immunity” security initiative. The company also said it’s released an enhanced version 4.10 of its DefensePro security solution. Radware officials say the company’s DefensePro is a real-time Intrusion (News - Alert) Prevention System that maintains business continuity by protecting the......
[more] Companies ignoring unified comms security Companies are leaving their unified communications (UC) systems wide open to hackers, newly published research claims. The biggest problems arise from the improper or incomplete use of security features, according to the latest report from Light Reading's VoIP Services Insider. "Vendors are putting technologies in place to provide protection from existing and impending threats," said Denise Culver, a research analyst at Light Reading."But......
[more] Austrian official fuels Skype backdoor rumours Off the cuff remarks by Austrian government officials suggest that Skype conversations might be intercepted. Speaking at a recent meeting on lawful interception between ISPs and Austrian regulators, an unnamed "high-ranking" official at Austria's interior ministry said that listening into a conversation over Skype presented no particular problems, Heise security reports. The opinion contrasts with the view of Joerg Ziercke, president of Germany's Fe......
[more] Telecoms body slammed for endangering Net anonymity An international telecommunications has been slammed by privacy advocates for trying to stem the number of DoS attacks by limiting the amount of anonymity on the web. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has produced a draft recommendation, X.tb-ucr, (Trace back use case and requirements), which aims to identify the source of packets sent across IP networks.Making it possible to trace the origin of all Internet traffic "raise......
[more] SPIT anti-SPAM For VoIP SPIT is the unfortunate acronym for Spam over Internet Telephony, a relatively new addition to the world of unwanted male enhancement creams and millionaire making schemes from Africa. Most spam arrives by email but increasingly spam is being generated in VoIP communications, and the more VoIP grows, the more attention it gets from “We need you Barclay’s password” cybercriminals intent on annoying users of the system. The problem with SPIT is the diffic......
[more] UCSniff - VoIP eavesdropping made easy A security consultant with expertise in protecting phone conversations as they travel over the internet has unveiled a new tool that demonstrates just how vulnerable voice over internet protocol, or VoIP, calls are to interception. UCSniff bundles a hodgepodge of previously available open-source applications into a single software package that helps penetration testers assess the security of VoIP calls carried over a client's network. It also introduces se......
[more] Academics predict growing cybercrime sophistication Data -- even on platforms such as mobile phones -- will continue to be the primary motive for future cybercrime. That's one of the key findings in a survey released Wednesday by the Georgia Tech Information Security Center (GTISC). The report, called the GTISC Emerging Cyber Threats Report for 2009, outlined the top five areas of security concern and risk for consumer and enterprise internet users for the coming year. The GTISC said it expect......
[more] Criminals using VoIP system for phone scam Criminals are taking advantage of a bug in the Asterisk Internet telephony system that lets them pump out thousands of scam phone calls in an hour, the FBI has warned. The FBI didn't say which versions of Asterisk were vulnerable to the bug, but it advised users to upgrade to the latest version of the software. Asterisk is an open-source product that lets users turn a Linux computer into a VoIP phone exchange. In so-called vishing attacks, scammers usu......
[more] Christmas messages from far away On Christmas Day, most of us pick up the phone and give our friends and family a seasonal greeting. But for people in remote locations, sending a festive message is not always an easy thing to do. Twenty years ago, the only options were a crackly long distance call or a letter sent six weeks early. Today, advances in technology mean that even if you are in the middle of the ocean, or half way up a glacier, there is always a way to send a message home. So rather......
[more] DECT wireless eavesdropping made easy Conversations relayed through cordless household phones might be far easier to snoop upon than previously suspected. A new attack against phones based on DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication) technology - demonstrated during the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin earlier this week - might be carried out cheaply using off-the-shelf kit, together with a little know-how. A modified $30 VoIP laptop card running on a Linux portable were used to d......
[more] What's behind move toward managed services When the going gets tough, the tough get ... managed? Apparently so. One of the major trends I've seen in recent months is the move towards managed services. More than 65% of the companies I work with say they have deployed managed services -- more than double the 27% that were doing so in 2006. The most common types of managed services? Managed router services (deployed by 49%), followed by managed VoIP (22%). A couple of factors are driving the trend......
[more] Adopting VOIP without unnecessary risk to your organisation For many years, voice over IP (VOIP) has held the promise of enabling the next generation of voice communications within the enterprise. Unfortunately, its adoption has been slowed; sometimes by the reality of poor performing WAN application, in other cases by perceptions that (VOIP) technology is not quite ready for the mainstream market. These problems, both real and imagined, have forced IT organisations and (VOIP) vendors to take a......
[more] Skype to run beta of VoIP service for business over SIP, IP switches Skype Technologies SA announced today a beta version of its popular voice-over-IP service for businesses that have IP-based switches running on the Session Initiation Protocol. The Luxembourg-based company said the beta is open to a limited number of developers and others who can apply at its Web site. Pricing for the new product, called Skype for SIP for Business, will be announced when the software launches later this year,......
[more] iPhone users to get Skype service Skype has said that iPhone users will be able to use its internet telephony service to make calls, but only using wi-fi and not the mobile network. The firm's native voice over internet protocol (VoIP) application - Skype for iPhone - will be available for download from Apple's iTunes store on Tuesday. The new service will allow users to make free calls to Skype users, but will charge for calls to other numbers. The UK's first Skype handset was launched b......
[more] How Does WAN Optimization Work? WAN optimization controllers (WOCs) can breathe new life into slow wide area network links, relieving congestion, speeding up file transfers and making applications more responsive. But how exactly do vendors like Riverbed Technology, Juniper Networks, Blue Coat Systems and Expand Networks get their devices to work their magic? To answer this question, consider the two fundamental problems that WAN links present: They have limited capacity, so they can beco......
[more] FaceTime finds employee Web 2.0 usage in corporate networks up to 10 times more than IT managers' estimates Actual network data from FaceTime Communications reveals that employee use of Web 2.0 applications such as instant messaging, IPTV, VOIP and social networking on corporate networks exceeds IT estimates by up to 10 times. FaceTime also today announced version 2.0 of its Unified Security Gateway (USG), a secure Web gateway purpose-built for the new Internet to provide a single point of cont......
[more] UK mobiles getting just a quarter of pledged speed The average mobile-broadband download speed in the UK is 0.9Mbps, a quarter of the rate promised by most providers, according to a report published on Wednesday. The research group Epitiro monitored connections among a pool of UK volunteers for its survey and found that the average was not reaching advertised download speeds, typically 3.6Mbps from most UK mobile-broadband suppliers. Epitiro chief executive Gavin Johns said in a statemen......
[more] Xroads Service Strives for Zero Network Outages With so much of the business depending on web and e-mail applications, many companies have taken steps to secure more reliable bandwidth, such as a TI connection. What few realize, however, that even with a T1's 99.9 percent uptime, that still adds up to more than 15 hours per year of downtime. Initially, the only way to achieve redundancy was through complex protocols like BGP (Border Gateway Protocol), EGP (Exterior Gateway Protocol) IGP (Interi......
[more] Ensuring Continuous Service in the Microsoft OCS 2007 Environment People use a variety of tools to communicate, from traditional landline, VoIP or mobile phones, to e-mail, instant messaging, audio/video conferencing, presence and new social networking sites. With each tool, end-user expectations regarding Quality of Service are high, as users expect ‘always up’ communications and consistent reliability. For example, when picking up the telephone, we expect to hear the dial tone wit......
[more] How to address the two types of insider threats "I read about fraud all the time -- hackers, online gangs, angry employees, etc. It seems like it's on the rise. Why is this so hard to detect and how can we prevent fraud in our organization?" It is true that fraud is increasing, and it does seem that we read about incidents on an almost daily basis. This is a factor of the rise in the amount of sensitive information that is now online, an increased number of online applications that access this......
[more] Microsoft ramps up unified communications push Microsoft is making a concerted push into unified communications with the launch of two additions to Office Communications Server (OCS). The OCS 2007 XMPP Gateway will allow users to add basic presence sharing, and support for the Cisco Jabber and Google Talk instant messaging platforms. A change to the public instant messaging (IM) connectivity licence requirements for OCS to Windows Live and AOL instant messenger networks, meanwhile, will allow u......
[more] Internet phone systems become the fraudster's tool Cybercriminals have found a new launching pad for their scams: the phone systems of small and medium-sized businesses across the U.S. In recent weeks, they have hacked into dozens of telephone systems across the country, using them as a way to contact unsuspecting bank customers and trick them into divulging their bank account numbers and passwords. The victims typically bank with smaller regional institutions, which typically have fewer resour......
[more] How to DDOS a federal wiretap Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania say they've discovered a way to circumvent the networking technology used by law enforcement to tap phone lines in the U.S. The flaws they've found "represent a serious threat to the accuracy and completeness of wiretap records used for both criminal investigation and as evidence in trial," the researchers say in their paper, set to be presented Thursday at a computer security conference in Chicago.
Following up on earl......
[more] Rutland village turns on 40Mbit/s broadband Residents and businesses in the village of Lyddington in Rutland will begin to receive a 40Mbit/s broadband service today, using a fibre network from a BT exchange installed by local internet service provider Rutland Telecom. The service will provide an average speed of 25Mbit/s, almost 10 times faster than the UK average of 3.2Mbit/s, enabling customers to take advantage of key technologies such as video streaming, VoIP and speedy file transfers.The......
[more] Skype iPhone app hits five million downloads Skype has claimed that five million consumers have downloaded its iPhone 3G VoIP application since it was released at the weekend. The 3G capabilities in the Skype 2.0 application mean that users are not restricted to the availability of a Wi-Fi network when they want to make calls. The application was designed to allow customers to make and receive free Skype-to-Skype calls for a trial period until the end of this year, and call mobiles and landline......
[more] Users find the secrets of WAN optimization While the benefits of WAN optimization are well documented - better application performance for example, - finding the right gear can address unrelated business goals. Blue Coat user Michael Shisko, the director of IT for Hitachi Consulting, said his company started looking for WAN optimization gear when it switched from an Internet VPN to a hub-and-spoke MPLS WAN service. Shisko said while 60% to 70% of the company's VPN traffic was ineligible for op......
[more] Hacker claims to have found Skype hole Skype's security credentials have been called into question by a developer who claims to have released a software library that emulates an encryption algorithm used by the popular VoIP service. Sean O'Neill, best known for designing the EnRUPT hash algorithm, has released program code which emulates the RC4 algorithm used by Skype to encrypt communications over its network.Skype is widely used in home and business environments, and the company guards its s......
[more] Four Ways IPv6 Will Save the Internet With only a 12-month supply of the common IPv4 addresses left, the world needs to quickly embrace IPv6 The world is almost out of IP addresses--or at least it's almost out of the IPv4 addresses that IT admins and users are most familiar with. Fortunately, IPv6 has been developed to exponentially expand the pool of available IP addresses while also providing a few other benefits. To address issues with the current IP protocol in use (IPv4), and to add featur......
[more] Critical flaws discovered in widely used embedded OS Two critical vulnerabilities have been discovered in mission-critical systems used in 500 million devices, including VoIP phones, telecom equipment, military routing devices, automobile controls and spacecraft. Last week at the Security B-Sides and DEFCON conferences in Las Vegas, HD Moore, chief security officer at Rapid7 and founder and chief architect of Metasploit, disclosed two critical vulnerabilities in VxWorks, which is used to power......
[more] Four technologies for faster broadband in 2011 A number of different technologies are being developed or improved to offer higher speeds for fixed and mobile broadband networks, as operators are preparing to compete with each other and carry video traffic in 3D and at higher resolutions, which is expected to happen in the coming year. Broadband speeds have arrived at the point where increasing them is a challenge for most types of fixed and mobile networks as providers move toward offering 3D an......
[more] Facebook or Google may buy Skype Skype could soon become a Google entity or part of Facebook, according to reports. Google may form a joint venture with the VoIP firm, while Facebook has taken part in discussions about buying Skype, Reuters said citing sources with direct knowledge of the discussions. Skype declined to comment on the reports. Gartner analyst Whit Andrews said that he had not heard anything about a Skype tie-up with Facebook or Google, but that both deals would make sense from a......
[more] Microsoft agrees to buy Skype for $8.5 billion Microsoft has agreed to buy Skype for $8.5 billion, the companies announced Tuesday. The companies' CEOs, Steve Ballmer and Tony Bates, will host a press conference later today to give details of the acquisition. The boards of both companies have agreed to the deal, which will see Bates reporting directly to Ballmer as president of the Microsoft Skype division, illustrating the importance of the deal to the company. Once the merger is complete, Micr......
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