Q. With security a concern regarding my voice network, what are the steps I can take to prevent problems from occurring?
A. The first step towards securing voice networks is the establishment of a comprehensive corporate security policy, which must identify roles and responsibilities for each level of an organization. Typically, each level will have a set of restrictions to systems and information access. These access levels are often mapped into appropriate access control lists or classes of service, depending upon the underlying platform. An "Acceptable Use" policy defines the guidelines for use of corporate computer systems, information and content such as email, data, etc.
The next step is the identification of network access points and areas for security management. With the security policy, a set of standards must define access levels for groups and individuals. Methods must be developed to identify problem areas and provide regular audits to ensure proactive control.
Finally, the ongoing management and control of voice systems must follow through with the execution of security initiatives. Unfortunately, many voice systems lack a set of inherent controls and rely on outside tools and resources for monitoring. Built-in reporting capabilities are limited and inadequate for thorough systems analysis. Often administrators print reports and then comb through pages of output to find specific data.
Voice systems have limited retention cycles for storing usage data, ranging from one hour to one week of data retention depending upon system velocity. For example, records of login activity on messaging servers may only span one to two days before the logfile is overwritten. Limited data for analysis translates into incomplete spot checks of systems. The type of analysis, if performed at all, is often too late to identify problem areas. With complex networks that span multiple, global locations, it is impossible for operations personnel to monitor these systems 24x7. Applications software and hardware devices must fill in the gaps.
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