Has Your VOIP System Been Hacked?
VOIP can be a great communications solution for businesses of all sizes. It offers many advantages over a traditional PBX system and it is an increasingly popular choice with Southern California businesses.
VOIP is not, however, perfect, no technology is. One possible downside of VOIP is the danger of the system being hacked.
Yes. Hacked. Many people don’t even realize that a VOIP system can be hacked. Depending on who installed your VoIP system and the other security precautions your business has in place – or does not have in place – it might be very easy to hack your VOIP based communications system. But how would you even know?
There are, however, a number of telltale signs that a VOIP system is under attack from a nefarious hacker. Here are some of the most common.
No One Remembers Making ‘Those Calls’
This is often the very first thing that businesses notice that alert them to the fact that their VOIP system may be under attack (even though there are often subtler signs that have already been missed)
Going over call records you notice numbers that seem odd. International calls made when your business rarely makes them. Calls to another state made from a small business whose employees rarely ever need to call out of town. Repeated hang-ups from the same numbers. All of these can be signs of a hack and are certainly a reason to call in IT help as soon as possible to check everything out.
Your Equipment is Going a Bit Haywire
Mics that turn themselves off for no reason. Webcams that turn on out of the blue. Headphones that are suddenly filled with odd screechy sounds. Not only can such things be disruptive and annoying they can be rather disconcerting as well.
The chances are good (we think) that your office isn’t suddenly infested with naughty poltergeists, but these odd occurrences are often the result of a hack. It is common for hackers to make use of webcams and Internet connected mics etc. to ‘spy’ and try to gather the kinds of things they are looking for, such as credit card numbers, social security numbers and maybe even ‘trade secrets’.
You’re Getting Spammy Anti-Virus Messages
VoIP phone systems use the Internet to operate, so if you are receiving lots of spammy-looking antivirus messages whenever the VoIP phone system is being used it is a good sign that something is out of the ordinary.
Often if you are getting an increased volume of these messages, a hacker has probably already entered your system and installed malware or another virus. Call in IT help to address the issue and make sure that the antivirus software installed on your systems is up to date and running regularly.
The best way, of course, to guard against a hacked VOIP system is to make sure that there are solid security measures in place right from the start and, that if something does go wrong, you know exactly who to call to help rectify the problem.
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