Lots of interesting news stories this morning. Some are bigger than others. Here are a few that are likely to fly below the radar, but caught my eye.

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Cyber-criminals switch to VoIP 'vishing'

Phone scams heading for the the UK, warns security firm
Robert Jaques, vnunet.com 10 Jul 2006

Traditional web-based phishing attacks are evolving into sophisticated phone scams as cyber-criminals attempt to keep one step ahead of detection, security experts have warned.

Secure Computing reported today that its engineers have been tracking news group sites and open disclosure discussion groups which are buzzing with talk about a VoIP telephony version of phishing dubbed 'vishing'.

We've seen several references in the past few months to the threat of VoIP phishing. This is the first time I've seen vishing as a reference. It's important to remember that phishing and all its variants are social engineering efforts, not technical security issues.

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Ericsson wins 5-yr VoIP order from UK's ntl:Telewest
STOCKHOLM (AFX) - LM Ericsson AB said it has won a 5-year order to help the UK's ntl:Telewest to develop its telephone network using Voice-over-Internet Protocol technology.

This was a very brief blurb in Forbes, but worth note. Ericsson is a powerhouse telecom provider and is often overlooked in the VoIP sector. A 5-year order is a pretty significant sale.

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VOIP Security Services Taking Hold

Carriers are beefing up their VOIP security services, and demand for these offerings is growing as more vulnerabilities surface. High-profile attacks against VOIP systems are helping drive this market. In early June, for example, two men were arrested and charged with routing approximately 500,000 calls illegally over the network belonging to Net2Phone, a Newark, N.J., VOIP provider, reportedly cheating 15 Internet phone companies.

We've recently seen Verizon offer up some new VoIP security services. Certainly the growing demands confirms the growth of VoIP services. Critical mass for VoIP has been reached and it's become a mainstream service.

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Chariot accused of more falsehoods by Transcom
By Stuart Corner
Monday, 10 July 2006
In response to our earlier report of the conflict between Transcom International and Chariot over their plans to collaborate on a VoIP service, Transcom International's director and legal counsel, Nav Basi, has accused Chariot of further misleading shareholders.
In an email to iTWire, Basi said: "On 13 September 2005 CTI made an announcement...In that announcement on page 2 CTI make reference to it rolling out with Transcom the Linqk product range, this is misleading, incorrect and false. CTI have not been granted any rights under any arrangement or otherwise to the Linqk Service."

This battle between Transcom Internation and Chariot has been heating up as the two companies struggle to resolve their differences.

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Vonage Buys 3 VoIP Patents From Digital Packet Licensing
(RTTNews) - Vonage Holdings Corp. (VG | charts | news | PowerRating) said it purchased three patents from Digital Packet Licensing Inc. that enable voice over Internet protocol technology. The acquired patents are directed to the compression of packetized digital signals commonly used in VoIP technology, the company noted.

The company stated that the acquisition of these three patents now places it in control of pending litigation against Sprint Communications LP and Verizon Communications, among others, in federal court for infringement of one of these VoIP patents. Vonage said it is presently in cross-licensing negotiations with regard to them.

We'll recall that Verizon recently claimed patent infringement against Vonage. Here's a follow up story about some purchases to fend off those allegations.



Technorati Tags: VoIP, vishing, Ericsson, VoIP security, Chariot, Transcom, Vonage, Verizon