Sales Director
Many smaller businesses offer specialised services, often tailored to support a specific or local market. For these companies, it’s vital to maintain the trust and satisfaction of your audience, which in turn leads to word-of-mouth recommendations and returning customers.
Many of these businesses however, have a much smaller budget for additional resources than larger organisations. This often leads to budget cuts in essential areas such as security. If this sounds like you - do you use or have you considered using VoIP technology?
This cutting-edge digital phone technology not only elevates your communication, but can help to secure your business and customer data with zero fuss. In our latest guide, we look at how VoIP solutions can help protect your sensitive information, and in turn, your reputation and future business opportunities.
If you’d like to learn more about VoIP technology, what it is, and how it works - our article ‘What is VoIP?’ has everything you need to know.
To protect your business from threats, you need to understand their impact and how to reduce any associated risks. Here, we’ll take a look at the VoIP features that can help protect you from a range of security issues.
As a small business, your employees may need to provide services remotely (e.g. if you’re a kitchen supplier, you may fit kitchens for customers) and require access to company systems while on the move. Not only does your VoIP system allow you to do this, but it protects your remote communications too.
VoIP’s encryption prevents unauthorised access to your business network and everything within it, meaning any calls or data exchanges made are secure. This includes a host of threats, including eavesdropping and manipulation tactics like social engineering attacks.
It’s also likely that your specific industry has regulations you need to comply with. This may include data regulations like GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), which protect customer data from misuse. VoIPs E2EE automatically supports compliance, by keeping your customer data safe from outside threats and preventing any financial repercussions as a result of data mismanagement.
Alongside their encryption protocols, your VoIP system has a host of other security features, providing up-to-the-minute network protection.
VoIP access controls often come in two forms: Multi-factor authentication (MFA) and Role Based-Access Control (RBAC). Both provide an extra layer of protection on top of common security protocols like firewalls, anti-virus systems and E2EE. They also help to simplify security processes for smaller organisations with limited IT resources.
With security threats evolving, it’s becoming easier for hackers to gain access to your network. MFA protects your VoIP system from this type of threat; requiring those accessing it to enter additional information (often generated at random by an app) to gain access.
RBAC is a more local form of protection. It restricts your employees' access to certain information, based on what their role requires. This not only prevents potential internal security threats, but gives external attackers fewer entry points to target.
VoIP firewalls control exactly what enters and leaves your network, providing integrated security for businesses that don’t have the budget to splash out on more expensive options. They act as a filter to ensure only authorised and trusted traffic passes through your network, blocking access to a regularly updated record of threats.
One of the main threat types your firewall can prevent is DoS Attacks. These attacks are designed to overload your network with traffic, stopping you from communicating with customers, and leaving you open to financial and reputational damage. This is where your firewall comes in - detecting and blocking suspicious or unusual activity and preventing the intended impact of DOS attacks.
With less budget and IT resources available, most small businesses require security options that are easy enough for anyone to operate. VoIPs' ability to split your network into different segments means you’ll be able to prioritise and customise the security for certain segments, while making it easier to spot issues over smaller surface areas.
Cloud or hosted VoIP systems take a lot of the work out of securing your network. Because the security of your system sits with your provider, they’ll handle all of the updates - including software fixes for common technical issues and new information around the latest security threats. These systems are often ideal for small businesses that have less time or money to spend on additional resources.
If you’ve experienced nuisance or unsolicited calls before, you’ll know how frustrating they can be. These calls can be even more annoying for smaller operations, wasting their valuable time, preventing customers from getting through to them and distracting from the job at hand.
Many VoIP solutions - like T2K’s Gamma Horizon - offer a call-blocking service, with features that allow you to see who’s calling, as well as recording unwanted numbers and preventing them from getting through in the future.
This also protects you against Vishing (Phishing via a phone call) attempts, which prey on inexperienced call agents or momentary lapses in judgement to gain access to sensitive information. With these distractions removed, you’ll be free to capitalise on business opportunities, while enabling your workforce to be more productive.
Alongside being a powerful telephony solution, your VoIP system also includes tons of intuitive features that allow you to spot security issues before they escalate. This includes real-time network monitoring, which goes hand in hand with your VoIP firewall, allowing you to see and eliminate threats and unauthorised traffic before they impact your sensitive data.
Outside of the real-time features, you’ll also be able to use call analytics to monitor your network over time. This means you’ll be able to look deeper at patterns and trends, giving you insight into when future issues may occur.
Analytics also show you how your VoIP system is performing over certain periods, allowing you to delegate call traffic across network segments and, in turn, create a more stable and secure network.
While many VoIP systems have security features built-in, smaller businesses may want to use external tools as part of their security protocols. This may be due to not having time to learn new systems or simply wishing to introduce a preferred third-party tool into their VoIP setup.
Either way, many VoIP systems allow integration with a host of popular tools, meaning external security features with increased power - such as firewalls, analytics tools and other platforms - can be paired with your VoIP systems.
These may include Sessions Border Controllers such as those provided by AudioCodes. These external devices protect the security of your network, with modern models also helping to stabilise the quality of video and voice calls over VoIP.
As mentioned earlier, smaller business employees may need to be more mobile. VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) are designed to create a private encrypted network, protecting data while working remotely or while on the go. This makes sense for those who take calls while working from home, with VPNs being used by many companies to protect call and voice data.
Alongside the many handy ways VoIP can protect your business, there are also several areas you can focus on yourself. We’ve created a useful checklist of security tips to help secure your VoIP network and your business.
Cybercriminals are often able to leverage technology to access weaker passwords. With this in mind, it’s vital to use strong passwords across your business, while also never using the same password for multiple accounts. Doing so ensures that should a criminal guess your password, they won’t be able to access other accounts with the same password.
And while this may sound like a lot of work - using a password manager like NordPass gives you access to all of your passwords in one place, while keeping them safe and secure.
If you’re not using a cloud or hosted VoIP provider who does the work for you, it’s important to remember to keep on top of your system and software updates. Most platforms and tools provide regular updates complete with the latest technical fixes, alongside information on new security threats. Checking for and implementing updates to frequently used tools will reduce your system's vulnerabilities to external attacks.
The more your employees know about existing security issues, the better prepared your business will be for unexpected threats. By providing relevant training around best practices, they’ll be able to use their knowledge alongside your VoIP system to spot suspicious activity and understand how threats present themselves. The greater the knowledge across your workforce, the stronger defence you’ll have against unexpected security issues.
With many small businesses operating on reputation and word of mouth, a single data breach or security incident can cause significant damage. For smaller operations that have yet to explore VoIP as an option - it’s certainly worth considering.
On the surface, it’s a flexible, digital phone solution; a powerful, cost-effective upgrade to traditional landlines. But look closer, and you’ll find a system that allows small businesses to elevate customer and workforce communication, all while keeping every email, call or piece of customer information safe from even the most persistent threat.
If you’re a small business and you want to find out how VoIP can secure your communications, contact T2K today.
Having worked for T2k for nearly 25 years, it's fair to say that Lee is an expert when it comes to all things telephony and business communications. Overseeing the commercial side of the business, he has helped the company evolve and grow through the decades. In recent years, and with the advent of VoIP and hosted telephony, Lee has made sure that T2k is at the forefront of technological developments. With a firm interest in helping businesses navigate the world of telecoms, Lee is responsible for the majority of the content on this website.
