Enterprises and Small Businesses Vulnerable to Phone Hacks

It is no secret that business owners face vulnerability on their computer networks to attacks from hackers. One common oversight is that phone systems are just as open to attacks from hackers.

This poses a large threat to small business owners who are held accountable for fraudulent activity on phone bills.

Unfortunately, this is one obsolete regulation that the Federal Communications Commission has yet to amend. There has been a drastic increase in phone hacks for small businesses, which has resulted in billions of dollars into the pockets of fraudsters. This large increase has been fueled by VoIP services that the majority of small businesses utilize in an effort to cut costs.

Further, it is a misconception that only small businesses are the focus of phone attacks, and therefore, need to be on the lookout. Enterprises are just as equally vulnerable and need to be aware of this telecom fraud risk.

TransNexus is one of the leading telecom fraud authorities. With the new release of NexOSS-FC, TransNexus has obtained an edge on protecting a network through their one-of-a-kind solution. By using SIP Analytics, fraudulent calling trends are identified before calls are made.

One major advantage of SIP Analytics is the use of SIP header information. The use of SIP header information results in a much faster detection that is not available through CDR Analytics. The SIP functionality also permits NexOSS-FC to provide fraud detection for any SIP device.

Jeremy Quittner, from Inc. has outlined the following six tips from experts on how to keep your network protected in his article How to Block Fraudsters From Ringing Up Massive Charges on Your Phone Bill.

• Read your contract and know what you've signed up for. Palchick says his architectural firm client didn’t realize it had been signed up for international calling in the first place.

• Find out from your provider what kind of fraud protection it offers. If it doesn't offer any, it's probably best to move on. The best operators should be able to put your PBX behind a firewall, just like your computer network.

• Make sure every user on the phone network uses a complex password, preferably a combination of letters and numbers, up to 16 characters long, Dalton says. Also set tight administrative controls for the network, limiting the number of people who have access to master passwords and controls.

• Tell your provider to switch off international phone calls, and just use your personal phone for any you need to make.

• Consider placing limits with your carrier on the dollar amount you're willing to spend each day on long distance calling. Long distance phone calls using VOIP cost pennies. Most small businesses could get away with $40 cap a day, says Shane Mitchell president and founder of Rock Solid Internet & Telephone, an Internet and VOIP provider.

• Some providers will let you create a white list of IP addresses that are allowed to make phone calls. (That helps in the event some of your employees work remotely or from other locations besides your headquarters.) In the event an unknown IP address tries to take over and make phone calls, the system would shut it down, Shane says.

Don’t wait for your network to experience a phone hack. Contact TransNexus today to schedule a free demo of NexOSS-FC for your enterprise or small business.