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Internet telephony under threat from cyber crooks

Complex program codes used for internet telephony including Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) can compromise the internet security of such systems and expose them to hackers, an online security expert says.

Firms using VOIP private branch exchange (PBX) software should especially be wary of this phenomenon, says application vulnerability specialist Fortify Software.

According to the firm's director of product marketing Rob Rachwald, many firms are left vulnerable because most firms' IT security resources do not competently cover VOIP PBX systems.

"This means that users of VOIP PBX systems who think their telephone system is covered by, for example, a firewall application, can wake up with a nasty surprise on the phone bill front, after their PBX system has been compromised," he stated.

The warning comes in the wake of an earlier FBI caution that users of the Asterisk VOIP PBX software risked having their internet security compromised unless they upgraded to a better system, Publictechnology.net reports.

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