Typically, when you hear of hacking, you think of computer hacking. Computer hackers are unauthorized users who break into computer systems to steal, change, or destroy information, often by installing dangerous malware without your knowledge or consent. However, did you know that Internet-connected work phones face the same security risks as your computers?

This is especially true for those who share their server infrastructures directly on the internet. Join us as we review what exactly E-MetroTel offers compared to standard server-based telephony systems, the pros of having your own in-house appliance or cloud instance, and the risks associated with sharing services on a common server like many providers offer..

What is VoIP Appliance versus a Server?

A business typically has two options for hosting their Internet-connected phone systems; go with a local on-premises “dedicated” appliance infrastructure or work with a cloud-based service provider.

A VoIP appliance is a platform that is dedicated to providing Communication services to a business and sits directly on their premise.
Cloud-based server providers typically have one large cloud server and when you connect to them you share your communication infrastructure with the rest of their customers.

Communication systems security is important, because communication systems often hold a great deal of an organization’s vital information. If a communication system is compromised, all its contents can become available to others or be deleted altogether. Therefore, E-MetroTel not only offers a complete portfolio of appliance solutions for small and large businesses, but it goes one step further. Our cloud offering is based on the exact same software as our appliances and each customer has its own dedicated instance within the cloud environment, meaning that their data is always completely separate from everyone else’s.

How does using a VoIP Appliance ensure privacy?

VoIP Appliances help organizations conduct secure and private network transactions. For example, at E-MetroTel, every customer resides on their own private instance, which means no telephony services are shared. This provides high-quality, secure, and private service. Without a dedicated server/appliance you run the risk of the following from hackers:

Call Fraud

Call fraud is when a hacker taps into your VoIP line and uses it to make high-volume spam calls to foreign countries. This is one of the most common threats to VoIP systems.

Eavesdropping

You may be surprised at how easy it is for hackers to listen in on your calls and record them to spy on your company. Once they’re in, they can gain control of your mailbox, call forwarding, caller ID, and more to launch more complex attacks.

Denial of Service (DoS) Attack

A Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack is meant to shut down a network, making it inaccessible to its intended users. Hackers accomplish this by flooding the target with traffic or sending it information that triggers a crash. In both instances, the DoS attack deprives legitimate users of the service or resources they need.

Viruses and Malware

Just like office computers, your Internet-connected phones are vulnerable to viruses and malicious software (malware). This can allow hackers to track keystrokes, destroy information, instruct the phone to make spam calls, and more.

Vishing

Vishing, a combination of ‘voice’ and ‘phishing,’ is a phone scam that hackers take advantage of to try and get you to share personal information. These hackers can place hundreds of calls at a time and tweak the caller ID to make the call appear to come from a trusted source; this is called “caller ID spoofing.” According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Compliant Center, phishing crimes cost victims $48 million in 2018.

You may be thinking that your company is too small or low-profile to attract attention from hackers; however, this may not be the case. Instead, it would help if you thought of hackers like burglars as they aren’t necessarily looking for the wealthiest house on the block; they’re looking for the easiest to break into. As such, you need to choose a solution that offers multiple layers of security. E-MetroTel provides a secure and reliable network for both cloud and on-premises that companies can trust.

How E-MetroTel mitigates the security risk of using VoIP

• We offer a choice of secure premise or cloud-based solutions:

a. With our premise-based solutions, you are free to deploy the UCX software behind a firewall of your own choosing, giving you full control of your level of security from the internet.
b. With our cloud-based solutions, we configure Security Groups to limit the number of exposed ports to the bare minimum for required normal operation thereby reducing the opportunity for hackers to access the system.
c. For either scenario you can add an additional layer of security by activating the UCX Firewall to be able to allow communication only to/from specific addresses.

• All of our premise-based systems are equipped with two ethernet ports, meaning that you can create a network that is only used for voice communication, further limiting the exposure of telephony components to the internet.
• Our SIP Trunks are provisioned on an IP Peer based configuration rather than username and password. This means that the only device that we allow to establish trunk calls is the one running our UXC software. Username and password based registration allows third parties to initiate calls if the username and password have been compromised.
• Our IP based phones do not rely on the well-known SIP protocols that many VoIP systems use today. Instead, our phones are all controlled by our patented XSTIM protocol which leave the intelligence all in the server, making it easier for us to secure.
• Our architecture provides almost all the same capabilities to digital phones as available on IP based phones. Digital phones are not vulnerable to hacking from outside the organization and require physical access to attempt eavesdropping.
• Our mobile softphones for Android and iOS use encryption technology to reduce the ability for third parties to capture conversation on public wireless networks.
• With our UCX software, you have the ability to modify the behavior of the call transfer capability. Exploiting the SIP Call Transfer feature is one of the most common mechanisms for toll fraud.
• Any recordings are stored on your specific system. If you have a cloud based UCX system, the recordings exist only on your specific cloud instance and not on a common server.

Our software team releases updates as soon as possible when security vulnerabilities to our software components are announced or we detect suspicious activity. We have also provided an automatic update capability to help ensure these updates are applied on a regular, consistent basis.

About E-MetroTel

E-MetroTel provides unified business communications systems to a global client base through leading edge telephony hardware and software. We deliver streamlined migration to complete solutions that tightly integrate digital, IP, analog, and Unified Communications (UC) capabilities.

Founded in 2009, E-MetroTel includes many former Nortel and Avaya employees with deep technical knowledge of our enterprise products and service offerings. Our design and support teams are based in the United States and Canada, with a global distribution and reseller network that provides seamless implementation for our customers.

To serve the unique requirements of our clients, we offer a wide range of choices to meet their current business needs and budget. Through a careful consultation process, our network of authorized resellers explores complete, customized solutions to ensure easy adoption, hybrid integration, superior customer support, and longevity. We offer cloud technology, enterprise software, virtualization, and virtual appliance options.

Our vanguard design team relentlessly pursues next generation innovations in communication solutions, which is why we are the only manufacturer providing XSTIM smart VoIP technology, patented digital technology, hybrid systems implementation, and migration from Nortel, Avaya, and Panasonic PBXs. We also lead our competitors in digital telephony investment.