PGP VOIP - Privacy Encryption and Security

MOST Australian organisations do not have adequate security measures in place when they install voice over internet protocol telephony, a survey finds.

A national survey of 200 medium to large businesses and government organisations reveals that 97 per cent of respondents lack sufficient security on their internet protocol telephony.

The survey was done for Integ, an integrator of communications technologies.

MOST Australian organisations do not have adequate security measures in place when they install voice over internet protocol telephony, a survey finds.

A national survey of 200 medium to large businesses and government organisations reveals that 97 per cent of respondents lack sufficient security on their internet protocol telephony.

The survey was done for Integ, an integrator of communications technologies.

The 3 per cent that did have adequate security since they first installed the system, approached their IP telephony project with strategic, long-term plans.

Their plans covered systems processes and policies from the switch and router level through to password control.

The survey, conducted in late 2005, finds that 65 per cent of organisations surveyed were testing, assessing or reviewing net phone system.

More than 40 per cent of these organisations expect that their IP telephony roll-out will be complete within two years.

A quarter of potential adopters of IP telephony rate security as their biggest concern.

The research finds that nearly 60 per cent of organisations report frequent breaches to the security of their data networks - more than two each year.

More than 15 per cent indicate that these breaches caused significant or extensive damage to business operations.

Nearly all of the companies interviewed for the survey said they had installed antivirus systems.

However, 48 per cent said they were still affected by virus attacks.

Almost 33 per cent of organisations had either never done a security audit of their data or telephony networks or had not done one for more than a year.

Integ chief executive Ian Poole said there appeared to be a lack of understanding about the threats to VoIP or how to guard against them.