On today’s worsening cyber threat landscape, security is a top-of-mind concern — and cloud business phone systems are fundamentally designed to be part of the solution.
To that end, here are 8 best practices for making cloud business phone systems more secure against data leaks, malware attacks, and other threats:
- Use Network Encryption
The voice/data network should use both WPA-2 encryption and WPA password security, and all employees who use the cloud phone system through their desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone should have strong encryption protection.
- Deploy a Next-Generation Security Gateway Appliance
Next-generation security gateway appliances can be configured as a firewall, LAN or WAN router, VPN appliance, DHCP Server, DNS Server, and IDS/IPS with optional packages to deliver a high performance, high throughput front-line security architecture at a low price per gigabit.
- Secure Devices
Securing devices involves eliminating insecure file transfer protocols, restricting network access to trusted parties, disabling administrative interfaces, changing default passwords, disabling SSH and HTTP interfaces on embedded Multimedia Term Adapters, and using an access list to prevent unauthorized SIP requests.
- Use Strong Passwords
Passwords such as “password” or “1234567” are disasters waiting to happen! Fortunately, businesses can use inexpensive tools to consistently generate strong passwords that contain a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols, and is at least 10 characters long.
- Perform Regular Security Audits
It is important to regularly perform security audits, which should focus on passwords (to ensure that they are strong), international call forwarding rules, and accounts that do not have the proper authorization.
- Use Monitoring Tools
Monitoring tools use algorithms to analyze call detail records, and detect potential misuse or fraud. For example, if an unauthorized user is accessing the system to make international calls, the monitoring tools will reveal this and the vulnerability can be shut down.
- Use Automatic Shut-Off
As the term suggests, automatic shut-off suspends the system if unusual traffic or activity is detected.
- Establish Usage Limits
Limits can be set to end calls once a pre-specified duration has been reached (e.g. 2 hours), or to prevent calls from connecting when they are initiated from outside of a pre-defined geographic range (e.g. more than 40 miles from the office).
Carolina Digital Phone: Your 24/7/365 Security Partner
At Carolina Digital Phone, we ensure that all of our customers benefit from these security best practices. In addition, our expert team monitors the system 24/7/365, and takes immediate action if a threat (real or potential) emerges.
To learn more about how we keep your data, users and businesses safe, contact us today at (336) 544-4000. Your consultation is free.