Learn More about VoIP Security

As security issues surrounding Internet telephony continue to evolve, a book cannot possibly keep you up to date for more than a few weeks at best. To help you find out more about what is happening with VoIP security, I have included the following resources. Use them to locate additional information about security topics and issues affecting the VoIP community.

VoIP security resources

The following Web sites and online resources follow developments in VoIP and should have information about current security issues:

Fire the Phone Company Blog (www.firethephonecompany.info)

This Web log, which I maintain, covers news and events affecting the consumer Internet phone industry.

The VoIP Wiki (www.voip-info.org/tiki-index.php)

The VoIP Wiki includes references to VoIP setup, security specifications, and new technologies.

Request for Comments Document 3329, Security Mechanism Agreement for the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) (www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc3329.html)

Request for Comments documents define proposed Internet standards. When ratified, they become specifications for the adoption of new practices and technologies (good bedtime reading).

VoIP security organizations

These organizations promote security awareness and describe new standards for VoIP security. These bodies include members of the community of VoIP manufacturers, VoIP providers, and users of VoIP services.

Voice Over IP Security Alliance (VOIPSA)

Loaded with very smart people, this group evaluates research and analysis of VoIP security vulnerabilities and promotes remedies for these vulnerabilities. Representatives from major VoIP manufacturers, consulting firms, and standards bodies attend regular conference calls to discuss VoIP security issues and find solutions to these issues.

To follow along with the efforts of VOIPSA, you can visit its Web site at www.voipsa.org.

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)

The IETF is the standards body for most Internet technologies. Its RFCs, which have the effect of creating standards for Internet communications, govern the structure of the Internet as it exists today.

VoIP, itself an Internet technology, is governed by several RFCs covering everything from the structure of VoIP packets to the signaling employed to make and break calls. As security proposals are generated by VOIPSA, they will no doubt take the form of RFCs in which the IETF becomes involved.

The IETF's Web site is at www.ietf.org.