Telecom expense network security concerns SMBs

Telecom Expense Network Security Concerns SMBs According to CompTIA Study by Lisa Santora

According to a recent study commissioned by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) of 350 SMBs (of 500 or fewer employees), only 50 percent of respondents trust the security offered by IP telephony vendors. Telecom expense management networks are prime targets for hackers and companies cannot rely on IP telephony vendors for security; they need to employ their own security measures to protect their VoIP networks.

By installing today's sophisticated call accounting software systems, attacks on VoIP networks can be mitigated. VoIP Lowdown.com offers a 25 point list that can help organizations secure their VoIP networks. Included near the top of their list of recommendations is this advice: "Monitor and track traffic patterns on your VoIP network: Monitoring tools and intrusion detection systems can help identify attempts to break into your VoIP network. Scrutinizing your VoIP logs can bring to light irregularities such as international calls made at odd hours or to countries your organization has no ties with (toll fraud), multiple log-on attempts like in a brute-force attempt to crack a password, or a surge in voice traffic during off-peak hours (voice spam)."

A full featured call accounting system provides the capability to track all calls from every wireline, wireless, and VoIP phone across the enterprise. This comprehensive protection and the peace of mind it offers can more than justify the cost of installing the call accounting system. By deploying a call accounting system companies can track call detail records in real time so they can be alerted immediately to potential threats.

Real time call data also makes reporting easier as system users can run standard and custom reports either on the fly or per a set schedule. Reports can be scheduled to output to the user's screen, an e-mail list (reports can be sent as attachments to email), posted to a corporate web site, printed to a local or network printer, or saved as a file on the network. With the security and convenience features of today's telecom expense management systems, it is easy to see why increasing numbers of SMBs are turning to these systems to protect their telephone networks.

Author, Lisa Santora, writes articles on the business benefits of call accounting and call detail record technology. More information can be found at http://www.telsoft-solutions.com.