One of the biggest fears expressed both privately and quite loudly about VoIP is the security issue. With hackers worldwide seemingly breaking into whatever they want (Yes, U.S. Government; we’re glancing in your direction), it would seem to make sense that VoIP is just as vulnerable as everything else. But one VoIP insider has a contrary point of view.

Mitchell Barker is CEO of WhichVoIP.co.za., which bills itself as the No.1 VoIP, Hosted PBX (News - Alert) and Connectivity information and comparison website in South Africa. As such, he has some insights into the industry and its technology that mere mortals might not possess, and he shared some of them in a recent blog post. He maintains that VoIP is far more difficult to eavesdrop on than a traditional, analog phone line.

"This is because the voice data packets at the heart of VoIP calls are usually encrypted," Barker said. "Yet, on traditional phone lines, the callers' voices are broken into analog electrical signals which are then sent over telephone lines. Such analog signals cannot be encrypted, which is why it is much easier to trace, bug and intercept calls on PSTNs (public switch telephone networks) by merely placing listening devices inside phone handsets. And even on cellular phones and wireless handsets, radio scanners can pick up signals."

But VoIP calls are different.

"Since VoIP calls are converted into data packages, hackers must find a way to convert and translate various bits of binary data into the actual voice conversation that took place,” Barker says.

But he’s also a realist and notes that eavesdropping is not the only way in which VoIP calls could be compromised.

"There are denial of service (DOS) attacks too, which is when your service is disrupted due to hackers flooding your network with large amounts of data. Then there is also something called VoIP spam or SPIT, which stands for spam over Internet telephony," Barker explains. "This is when spammers send out massive amounts of automatically dialed pre-recorded phone calls using VoIP, calling victims hundreds of times. SPIT spammers exploit the SIP (session initiation protocol) technology used in VoIP to carry out these attacks."

Still, protection even against these is available. "If the company network is not secure, then your VoIP will also be at risk of these above-mentioned attacks. The security of the company's entire network is the foundation upon which your VOIP is built, so if that is strongly secured, then your VoIP will also be less susceptible to attacks."

It would seem your network is only as strong as your weakest link.