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Skype for Business Security risk

Skype is among the top VoIP companies for businesses. So far, it has helped businesses of all sizes save a significant amount of money on telephone costs. It has been cheaper to make sales and business conference calls with other businesses through this service. As well, Skype for Business is being used internally for free. Above all, the service can now be installed on mobile devices, Mac and Windows. Thus, Skype is the favorite VoIP service for numerous companies of all sizes. It is particularly common among SMB companies. There is one question; though, is there something as Skype for business security risks? In palatable terms, does Skype expose businesses to security threats? We will discuss this below.
1. DDoS attack
A DDoS or a DoS attack is a rather common one and it can affect users of a VoIP service like Skype or hosted PBX. Hackers love to utilize the DoS attack and can strike at various protocol levels. Whether they do it at SIP layer or IP layer, hackers can still manage to shrink your server bandwidth and other elements on the edge of an enterprise network. The solution to put in place if you run Skype for business security is finding a way to handle the tons of activity happening at the edge of your network. By so doing, you would ensure that the edge is not overwhelmed with activity if there is, indeed, a DDoS attack.
2. Eavesdropping
People with snooping tools could overhear voice calls made on a big network like Skype. The best way to reduce this risk within the local network and keep calls private is to separate Virtual LANs traffic. Also, you may encrypt all media streams to the edge of the enterprise.SIP endpoints like IAD (Integrated Access Device) and IP Skype for business PBX solution with integral encryption of signaling could solve this vulnerability.
3. Commodity operating Systems vulnerabilities
As you already know, a typical VoIP network uses commodity operating systems that are prone to viruses and malware. These include Windows, Linux, and Solaris. If the OS of these gets infected by malware or viruses, many enterprise VoIP network elements, such as servers, IVRs, SIP proxies, could also fail. The best way out is to harden all components of an enterprise Voice Over IP network.
4. Unwarranted calls made to a VoIP phone
We are all familiar with junk emails that go to the SPAM folder of our email addresses. When using Skype, for instance, a clever hacker could create bots that could gust unwanted calls to a VoIP connected phone. This SPIT occurrence is nearly comparable to phishing. This could happen if hacker talks end users into offering their private information pretending to need this data for a good reason. To solve something like this, user and device authentication methods can help your administrators to know where calls are coming from. If they are coming from an authorized caller, a mitigation action could be taken right away.
5. Intercepting free calls or toll fraud
A VoIP like Skype enables you to make free calls across its network. If a hacker wants to intercept and hijack one call’s end, they can do it and then use Rogue media. If an SIP-end disburses media to unauthenticated destinations, this can put your organization in a delicate position. These criminal calls are usually without a trace. A Rogue RTP protection should be used to secure an edge. As well, caller authentication with digital certificates at the network edge and Skype for Business encryption can stop this criminal practice. It’s harder to intercept a Skype call, though, as the traffic between two points is fully encrypted. However, once the call gets to your machine, it gets decrypted. If there is any device that could listen and record the call, then there is a risk to the local machine.
Actions that SMBs can take to stay safer
Businesses using Skype for Business should also play their part to stay safe. First, they should ensure a strict password policy. As Skype uses username and password system to authenticate and let users access their accounts, you must choose stronger passwords and protect them. This way you can unlock other security devices like SSL authentication and digital certificates.
Next, it is extremely imperative to secure your office computers with proper anti-virus devices as well as activate personal firewalls. Your security policy should prohibit all methods that are known to introduce viruses and malware to a PC. Thirdly, it is imperative to alter the privacy settings of all public business profiles from time to time. When it comes to avoiding fraud, spam and phishing on the Skype cloud, don’t open messages from unknown sources. Employees should be asked not to do it too.
If you or they avoid opening unknown messages, Skype for business security concerns with anti-spam and Malware filters could keep your devices safe. The exchange of company files and data should be well-defined in the policy, too. When installing software on an end-users computer, a policy should be in place to guide the administrator.
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Milan Tomic

Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.

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