Posted by Virus Bulletin on Jun 29, 2004
Technology to stamp out Internet telephony spam.
A patent application has been filed for a method to identify and block SPIT - spam over Internet telephony, or VoIP spam.
SPIT, or VoIP spam, is a combination of telemarketing calls and email spam in which a 'caller' uses Internet technology to send thousands of voice messages simultaneously into recipients' VoIP voice mailboxes.
VoIP spam was recently described by the US Telecommunications Association as a top security challenge ahead for the telephony industry.
In anticipation of the problem, enterprise VoIP telephony monitoring and management firm Qovia Inc. has created an application that can identify unsolicited and unwanted messages and differentiate them from messages that recipients want to receive.
"VoIP telephone systems are primarily being used by businesses and enterprises, and so there hasn't been a big target audience to make it worthwhile for VoIP spammers to start sending out VoIP Spam yet," said Pierce Reid, Qovia's VP Marketing.
"With consumer adoption of VoIP taking off - some estimates say a third of households will have Internet Telephony by 2008 - it's only a matter of time before the spammers see a critical mass."
Qovia plans to incorporate its spam-blocking tool into a security module that will be available as part of the company's VoIP Monitoring and Management System later this year.
Posted on 29 June 2004 by Virus Bulletin
