Lock Down SIP Trunks With SIP Trunking Checklist

In today’s ultra-competitive market space, shielding company’s critical information from the variety of cyber attacks may seem like an extremely challenging job. Emerging out of Internet space such as Hackers (comprising worms, virus, and Trojan Horses), Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attackers, malware can bring down business IT system right to its knees in a matter of seconds.

As cyber criminals grow more organized, vulnerability to cyber attacks has grown much more intense than before. And since communication department contains the most critical information, businesses need to build robust security system while moving PBX system to the internet which ensures smooth and secured business functioning. SIP trunking which is used to move PBX set up to the internet must ensure proper security measures are put in place while building the setup.

SIP trunking exclusive benefits such as cost efficiency, enhanced productivity, easy scalability, robust disaster recovery solutions outweighs security risks associated with it. Here are few measures that must be undertaken while moving to SIP trunking:

Establishing secure SIP

Today’s cloud-based generation have discovered freemium voice firewall products that can be installed and downloaded within few minutes, offering crucial steps for securing VoIP network without comprising any cost benefits associated with SIP trunking. This firewall set up build the first line of defense over the network by providing businesses with a critical first tier in voice security. With certain vendor solutions, security levels can be built through the definition of user-specific application level security and policies.

Administering robust security measures

Similar to any other server in the enterprise network, IP-PBX must also be shielded from any kind of unauthorized access. Sometimes, firewalls fail to protect from attacks on SIP infrastructure, so, the device at end point shall be selected carefully that imposes rules and policies framed to protect this vital asset. To set up an additional line of defense, encryption of SIP-based communications can be done to keep the sessions private and completely eliminate the chances of eavesdropping.

Address interoperability issues in initial phase

Inter-operability between ITSP (Internet Service provider) and IP-PBX besides solving the security troubles also streamlines the deployment of SIP trunking. Hackers, DDoS attackers easily get an opportunity to attack due to any inconsistency between ITSPs and IP-PBX components. In order to ensure successful interoperability between ITSPs and IP-PBX, companies are conducting interoperability test which makes sure the choice of service providers and equipment demonstrates successful interoperability with each other.

Shun Port Forwarding and incorporate Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS)

Avoid the use of most dangerous but the easiest means to get SIP trunking. The simplest means to get an SIP trunk with the provider which is to port forward the vital post (TCP/UDP 5060 & 5061) from your firewall/router straight away to the telephony system. This exposes the most crucial parts of the network to the public. Intrusion detection systems help to mitigate and detect attacks on systems.

Ensure a correctly configured IDS (Intrusion Detection System) is put in place to monitor all communications with your SIP provider. This will make IDS to the automatically alert administrator when the network is attacked.

Asking SIP trunking provider following questions can act as complimentary effort to above measures:

• Do they offer standard fraud management services?
• Do they offer network monitoring consistently and what security measures are put in place?
• Do they manage and control their own networks?

Wrapping it up

Loads of information is being transferred on a daily basis across the internet. You can never be sure about when a hacker may hit any part of your transferred voice data. Protecting your communications channels from the large range of attacks is a consistent effort and demands network builders to always stay alerted.