While it is, of course, possible to ‘sniff’ network packets, this is difficult compared to tapping a conventional voice call. Sniffing a VoIP packet means that you need access to the switches or the network. Given that this network is probably also carrying confidential data from other sources, it should be secured anyway.
The transmission brazil telegram method makes a difference to security too. Fibre optic cables are much harder to tap than copper wire because they don’t emit radio frequencies that can be intercepted. Even if signals are intercepted, getting at the contents of a VoIP call is still difficult because the actual call is tucked away inside the protocol stack. A hacker would, therefore, need to know in what format the information is transmitted and to be able to decode the packets. It’s hard to do in real time, so archived call data is more likely to be at risk.
As we have seen, running voice over your internal network is pretty secure. But what happens when the traffic goes out onto the internet? Making a connection to the outside world opens your servers up to access from all sorts of people.
Unlike PSTN telephone systems where phone numbers are centrally issued, there is relatively little control over the use of IP addresses. This means an environment where spoofing of IDs is relatively easy and where DDoS attacks could be used to take down or disrupt your voice calling capability.
Of course, these problems affect all internet traffic, not just voice. When you conduct any transactions over the internet, your traffic is passing through multiple different servers, some of which may not be as secure. There is, therefore, more risk in sending your VoIP traffic over the web. But consider that you are likely to be sending emails and other sensitive information over the same network without too many reservations, that puts the risk in context.
Protocols