Virsae, the cloud-native service management platform for unified communications (UC), has launched a UC security management solution aimed squarely at putting a dent in the billions of dollars lost to toll fraud.
Called Security Manager, the new module brings real-time threat awareness capabilities to protect UC networks, allowing network managers to pinpoint vulnerabilities and shore up defences.
Toll fraud costs companies $38 billion, according to the Communications Fraud Control Association and most of the blame sits with widespread adoption of VoIP, which traditional IT network security isn’t designed to protect. Supporting this view, research from cyber security specialist Nettitude, shows VoIP servers accounted for 67% of all attacks recorded against networks in the UK.
Ross Williams, Virsae’s COO, said hackers are cashing in on poorly-protected UC networks.
“Toll fraud is just the start – though at nearly twice the size of plastic card fraud, it’s a huge problem. But it’s just one of many threats facing UC environments,” he said, also highlighting increasingly common denial of service attacks.
“It’s all about money. Hackers have got you over a barrel when they can crash your UC platform with an endless flood of session requests, or clog SIP channels through repeated calling,” said Williams.
Unlike traditional software applications running on IT networks, which benefit from routinely updated security systems, such as firewalls and AV software, UC relied on Session Border Controllers (SBCs) – specialist technology often unfamiliar to IT managers.
