Enterprise Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) delivers the benefits of a single wire to the desktop, reducing operating costs, enabling deployment of sophisticated Customer Relationship Management tools, and speeding roll-out of new integrated voice-data-video services.
Using VoIP technology inside the corporate firewall is seen as secure – but 90% of all business calls cross the firewall to the outside world. A smart teenager with a cheap PC could capture your VoIP packets as they stream across the Internet, save the packets, and decode the conversation. A motivated business competitor or nationally-sponsored industrial spy would require less time. More to the point, 50% of all security break-ins are inside jobs, that is, by someone who has gained access inside the corporate firewall.
Some business calls require a high level of security:
* M&A
* Corporate Strategy
* Management discussions
* Contract negotiations
* Product development
* Investor relations
* Board meetings
* Corporate Communications
In selected business segments every call requires security: in the financial industry to comply with SAS70, in the health care industry to comply with HIPAA, in government as a matter of policy. Sabanes-Oxley compliance demands protection of sensitive financial information.
Improving security for VoIP calls has required:
* Complex configuration beyond the capacity of all but a few technologists
* Annoying audio delays due to complex calculations
* Poor audio quality due to packet loss during synchronization
* Expensive end-to-end implementation schemes requiring military budgets
* Expensive router, server and network enhancements
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