Voice over IP not without risks, warn experts

Voice over IP (VoIP) has rapidly risen to prominence in both large and small businesses in recent years, but experts are warning that the technology continues to raise security and cost concerns.

‘There are lots of VoIP opportunities, but also risks,’ said Peter Gardner, sector head for telecommunications investments at venture capital firm 3i.

‘Companies need to establish policies for how this technology is used. For instance, do you allow people to use Skype on their desktops, which opens up ports that would normally be kept blocked?’

Skype, one of the most popular free VoIP services, makes use of a number of ports rather than using just one, which consequently opens up more potentially exploitable holes in a company’s firewall.

Other VoIP competitors, such as Vonage, which charges customers a monthly subscription fee, use just one port to make it more secure for users.
Gardner believes it will not be long before there is a high-profile breach of security resulting from the technology.

Andrew Yeomans, vice president for global information security at investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, says that there are a number of issues that need to be considered when implementing VoIP.

And some of these concerns could even affect the technology's business case, he says.

‘The cost of the VoIP phone units are usually twice the price of traditional phone units, which certainly affects the business case for the technology when you are rolling it out across thousands of workers,’ said Yeomans.

‘Any VoIP equipment you buy now, plan to throw it away in two to three years’ time, as standards and security needs change.’

Yeomans is busy planning for the investment bank’s relocation to a new office next year, which is intended to be wireless and VoIP-enabled.

Another issue that he is taking into account is the need to keep the phone lines active if or when a network failure occurs.