The world has changed forever the way it does business. Gone are the days when the company telephone system lived in a heavy metal closet at the end of the hallway and only a technician with a tool belt could get to it. Our phone systems today live in the cloud.
We are able to make calls, have video meetings and send messages to the team from anywhere in the world with an internet connection using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). And since these systems are cloud based, management of them has gone remote as well. You don’t need to be a computer science major to understand the cybersecurity implications of remotely managing VoIP. Let’s take a look at the hidden risks of remotely managing your phones and how you can protect your business.
The Core Threat
The first step to understanding the security risks is to change the way you look at your phone. A conventional landline phone was nothing more than a piece of plastic and copper wire. A modern VoIP phone, whether it’s a physical desk phone, laptop app or smartphone app, is really just a small computer.
When IT teams manage these endpoints remotely, they do so via administrative dashboards over the Internet. If a cybercriminal gets into that management dashboard, they don’t just get access to your phone settings, they have an entry point into your entire business network.
The Primary Risks Of Remote VoIP Management
Careless remote management of phone systems presents a number of dangerous vulnerabilities.
Bad Passwords And Credential Stuffing
Many remote management dashboards are protected with the simple username and password. Hackers use automated software to try millions of combinations of stolen passwords (a tactic called credential stuffing) until they find a way in. If your remote management portal has a default or weak password, your entire phone network can be hacked within minutes.
Toll Fraud
Once a hacker has remote access to your VoIP management portal, toll fraud is often one of the first things they target. They will secretly reprogram your system to make thousands of automated calls to premium rate international numbers they control. The hackers keep the money and at the end of a weekend your business is hit with a crushing surprise phone bill that could run into tens of thousands of dollars.
Interception And Data Theft
If a VoIP server is not encrypted and a remote manager connects, cyber criminals can launch a “man-in-the-middle” attack. They can tap into the data flowing through the system to listen in on private business calls, steal voicemails or download customer contact lists.
Phishing And Vishing
Administrative control lets hackers change caller ID settings. They can spoof a scam call from the outside to look like it’s coming from your company’s CEO or HR department.” This is called vishing (voice phishing). It is used to lure employees into giving away corporate bank details or passwords.
How To Secure Your Remote VoIP Administration
You can protect your system without compromising the ease of remote management. It just means you have to put the right digital locks on the doors. Here are four easy and highly effective ways to protect your business.
Set Up Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is the best protection from hackers. Even if a cybercriminal guesses or steals the password to your VoIP management portal, they can’t log in without a secondary verification code sent to a trusted mobile device or authenticator app. Never allow remote access to your phone system without MFA.
Employ A VPN Or Zero Trust Network
Do not expose your VoIP management login page to the public internet. Require IT managers to connect using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or Zero Trust access tool. This way, only pre-approved encrypted corporate devices can even see the login screen in the first place.
Change All Default Passwords
VoIP desk phones and routers are often shipped with default admin passwords such as “admin” or “1234” from the factory. Hackers know these defaults by heart. Changing all of the default passwords to a complex and unique password is an important step when it comes to remote deployment.
Enable Encryption
Make sure your VoIP provider uses strong encryption protocols, such as Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP). This encrypts the data between your remote management tools, your phones and the cloud, making it totally unreadable to anyone trying to spy on your network.
Close Off the Communication Channels
Remote VoIP management is an amazing tool that keeps modern businesses agile and connected. But we have to respect that a phone line is no longer just a phone line. It’s a data conduit.
Treat your VoIP system the same way you treat your financial databases or company emails and you’ll get all the freedom of remote management without giving the keys of your business to cybercriminals. Keep your conversations private. Protect your portals with MFA. Update your software.
