They are becoming increasingly popular because they are cheap. However, before you rush off to buy an Internet phone or Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone, you should know that they are just as susceptible to hackers, who are finding new playgrounds on the still maturing technological frontier.
There are no boundaries in cyberspace. Hence, Internet phones are open to malicious attacks, regardless of the user’s or hackers’ geographic location.Recently, the New York Times reported that virus worms had jammed the servers at branches of a major insurer and a bank in the United States, causing around 1,500 Internet phone lines to lose voice service.
The economic loss for the two incidents was substantial, estimated at more than US$1 million (S$1.7 million). While the incidents happened thousands of kilometres away, consumers in Singapore would do well to adopt prevention measures.This is because Internet phones are open to malicious attacks regardless of the user’s or hacker’s geographic location.
Mr Danny Lai, director of network planning at MediaRing, a locally listed company that provides VoIP services, says: ‘In the cyberworld, there are no boundaries, making phone hacking easier than before.’
News source: StraitTimes
