Is VoIP Calling Secure?
When having sensitive business conversations, sharing confidential financial information or receiving payments over business calls, it is essential that these calls are secure. Protecting your customers and your business is always a number one priority for business owners. It is essential the activity that happens on your business phone system stays on your business phone system. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calling holds endless advantages from a price and accessibility point of view, and now more than ever VoIP calling provides a significant level of high security to protect your business and customers.
It is essential you select a VoIP provider that offers a robust secure VoIP solution with sophisticated controls, to reduce the potential risk of external disruption. Zadarma is highly recognised as a secure global VoIP solution, offering high-security features within their standard VoIP phone packages. But, just what VoIP calling security features are essential? Below are the core security features to consider:
Secure VoIP with Call Encryption – Ensure your VoIP provider can offer encryption as this will defend against any unauthorised use of your business phone line. Zadarma offers TLS and SRTP encryption. Transport Layer Security, or TLS, is a security protocol designed to enable privacy and data security for communications online, encrypting VoIP calling. The Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (or SRTP) is a profile that provides authentication and protection when sending data. This adds additional security and allows you to enable or disable protocols presented. You can customise the encryption and profile settings to suit your business needs. With encryption in place, hackers are unable to eavesdrop and access confidential information.
Secure VoIP with Two Factor Authentication
With Two Factor Authentication (2FA) in place, you create an instant barrier. This adds an extra layer of security and makes your data and customer communications twice as protected compared to a one-step, standard login & password login. Users need two forms of identification to log into the system. One factor is something they know, their password. The second factor should be something they have often verifying client phone numbers via a call rather than an SMS. SMS verification is more expensive and not always secure as clients can use temporary virtual numbers.
What else can you do to protect your business calls?
Business leaders can go a step further, enforcing best practice measures and controls, as part of their IT and security policy to reduce vulnerabilities. Here are some suggestions:
- Start using a VPN – Encrypt your WiFi
Don’t just encrypt your calls but encrypt your WiFi too. Setting up WiFi encryption is a simple way to boost your VoIP security and prevent hackers from eavesdropping on your conversations. To maximise your security you can consider using encrypted VoIP calls over a VPN connection. This offers an additional layer of security. VPN’s are widely used for computer networks, your business may already have one set up. This allows authorized users to access company data even when they’re not in the office. At the same time, it prevents hackers from entering your own network
- Ownership of IT processes
Do not ignore or delay operating system updates, as they offer added protection. Ensure you have a representative within your business who is responsible for the operating process and security to ensure best practice controls, measures and training are continually updated and adopted company wide.
- Security training & on boarding process
Following on from the point above, train your team to embrace your company security processes and to understand how to spot and avoid security threats, to help protect your calls and data. Ensure new teams receive this training as part of their onboarding process. When a team member leaves, deactivate users.
- Password policy
Establish a strong password policy utilising 2FA, and enforce this across your workforce, ensuring password updates happen at least every three months.
With password authentication and call encryption, VoIP provides a secure business phone calling solution, far more layers of security than traditional landline phones. A secure VoIP phone solution partnered with enforced IT best practices and data protection will protect and secure your customers and business.
Zadarma offers a variety of VoIP security features including TLS and SRTP encryption, as well as Two Factor Authentication (2FA) through their API solution. https://zadarma.com/en/info/about/.
