What you need to know about protecting the privacy and confidentiality of IP phone calls.
People generally assume that their private phone calls are just that: private. VoIP users, however, shouldn't take privacy for granted. (neither group should)
The problem with most VoIP calls is that they travel over the Internet, a very public network. This means that calls are vulnerable to snooping at various points throughout their journey. And even private-network VoIP calls can be tapped if access can be gained to the physical wiring.
As a result, business competitors, employees, criminal gangs, tech hobbyists and just plain snoops can all listen in to a business's outgoing and incoming VoIP calls. All that's needed is a packet-sniffing program, easily downloaded from the Internet, and perhaps a tiny piece of hardware to tap into a physical wire undetectably.
But the news isn't all bad. Methods and systems are available to safeguard VoIP traffic... (more)
