Seven Deadliest Unified Communications Attacks

Welcome to the "Seven Deadliest Unified Communications Attacks" site

Welcome to the website for the book "Seven Deadliest Unified Communications Attacks" by Dan York published by Syngress in April 2010.

You can order the book on Amazon.com now!

NSA Develops Secure Android Phones For Top Secret Calls

An interesting piece in the Australian edition of SC Magazine covers a recent presentation at RSA 2012 by Margaret Salter, head of the US National Security Agency (NSA) Information Assurance Directorate. She spoke about the NSA's "Mobility Program that aims to provide secure communication for government agencies using commercial "off the shelf" equipment.

The SC article focuses on the "Fishbowl" phones designed by the NSA and includes a number of interesting comments on the state of security implementations provided by vendors. It mentions that the NSA was looking to use SSL VPNs but due to a lack of interoperability wound up using IPSEC instead. Similarly they were looking to use DTLS-SRTP, but didn't find the implementations and so instead used "descriptions". The article has this excellent statement by Salter (my emphasis added):

Salter said the security specifications, such as those sought for the voice application, would be useful to everyone.

She urged colleagues to demand vendors improve unified communications interoperability.

“We need to send a message [about] standards, interoperability and plug and play," she said.

This need for interoperability and standards support was certainly one of the themes I tried to bring out in the book. It is indeed critical for the long term success of securing unified communications systems.

I also found it interesting that the NSA encrypts the voice twice:

Voice calls are encrypted twice in accordance with NSA policy, using IPSEC and SRTP, meaning a failure requires “two independent bad things to happen,” Salter said.

While there certainly is value in having multiple layers of security, I do wonder what this means in terms of computational overhead and/or latency. As our mobile phones have become more powerful, perhaps this is no longer a major concern.

Separate from the article, I was intrigued to read over on the NSA Mobility Program page that the first document they are releasing is the "Enterprise Mobility Architecture for Secure Voice over Internet Protocol (SVoIP)". From the page:

The first Mobility Capability document to be released is the initial draft release of the Enterprise Mobility Architecture for Secure Voice over Internet Protocol (SVoIP). It is intended to be a living reference that will be updated to keep pace with technology and policies as they change over time, as additional security products and services are developed, and as lessons learned from early adopters of this architecture are applied. As a first step, this version contains guidance on the required procedures necessary to build and implement a SVoIP capability using commercial grade cellular mobile devices. Future releases will build on this architecture and will include mobile device management and data applications; and ultimately integrate the WIFI service with an expanded list of end devices.

The 100+ page PDF file looks to be a fairly comprehensive view into what is involved with rolling out a secure mobile communications solution. It's great to see this from the NSA and it is a great contribution to the ongoing efforts to secure VoIP communications.

Slides: Does Anyone Really Give a _____ About VoIP Security?

Does anyone really give a (insert favorite profanity) about VoIP security? That was the key question I asked in the presentation I have to the recent 2011 ITT Real-Time Communications Conference. Technically, my talk with titled "The State of VoIP Security", but I decided to have a little bit of fun with it.

It was an enjoyable session and I recorded a video that I hope that I can make the cycles to produce and upload sometime soon.

Meanwhile, the slides for my talk are now online, although given my style they really need audio or video. Still, you can get a sense of what I covered:

The State of VoIP Security, a.k.a. “Does Anyone Really Give A _____ About VoIP Security?"

View more presentations from Dan York

P.S. If you would like to have me give a presentation like this at an event you are involved with, please contact me. I'm frequently presenting and always open to speaking at new venues.

Speaking about UC Security at IIT Real-Time Communications Conf Oct 5th

If you will be in Chicago this week for the the 7th Annual Real-Time Communications Conference & Expo, I will speaking on October 5th about VoIP and Unified Communications security as part of the security track of the conference.

There's a great schedule of speakers and I'm looking forward to both giving my session and also listening to the security presentations that follow mine. If you are going to be at the event, please do say hello!

European Union Security Agency Releases Report Analyzing HTML5 Security

ComputerWorld today reports that the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) has released a detailed report analyzing the security of HTML5 and related web protocols.

While not directly related to Unified Communications, the reality is that many UC web interfaces, particularly for mobile devices, may turn to HTML5 as a way to create a web interface that provides an excellent user interface and works across all mobile devices.

Perhaps more importantly, the work of the RTCWEB/WebRTC working groups within the IETF and W3C, which I've written about over on Voxeo's blogs, is aimed at bringing the "real-time communications" functionality directly into the web browser. In other words, you wouldn't need a browser plugin or additional program on your computer to make voice, video or chat connections… it could happen entirely within the browser.

At that point every browser potentially can become a UC endpoint… and therefore a concern for communications security.

It's a lengthy document from ENISA, but worth a read as it dives into both analysis and recommendations for greater HTML5 security.

FBI's Newest VoIP Fraud Case Shows Danger of Social Engineering

Over on the Voice of VOIPSA blog yesterday, I wrote about a new VoIP fraud case were a group of people stole over $4.4 million in services from a variety of Internet Telephony Service Providers (ITSPs) / carriers, including AT&T and Verizon.

As I note in that blog post, this wasn't a "VoIP security" attack as much as it was a social engineering attack. This group went to rather remarkable lengths to convince ITSPs that they were legitimate businesses to whom the ITSPs should extend credit... and then they abused that credit once it was given.

In the book, I talk about these issues of both fraud and social engineering. From a protection point-of-view, this latest fraud case really highlights the uncertainties in the "SIP Trunking" space (a topic I focused on in Chapter 5) and the need to perform adequate due diligence on the ITSPs from whom you are purchasing SIP connectivity. (Although, admittedly, this particular group went to such lengths that it is not surprised they duped do many companies.)

The reality is that as the market for Unified Communications and IP communications continues to grow and expand, it will only become more tempting for scammers and thieves... so I expect we'll see even more fraud cases in the time ahead.

Two New Amazon.com Reviews of Seven Deadliest Unified Communications Attacks

I've been very humbled and pleased to see two new reviews of Seven Deadliest Unified Communications Attacks show up on Amazon.com this month. Both are lengthy and both quite positive:

• Seven Deadliest Unified Communications Attacks, by Mario Camillen on April 3, 2011
  
  
• Required Reading for UC and VoIP Professionals, by Alan Johnston on April 22, 2011

I don't know Mario Camillen, but I definitely appreciate his taking the time to write about the book and for giving it the high rating he did.

I do know Alan Johnston and in fact recently wrote about his new fiction ebook here on this blog. I've known Alan for years through IETF and other SIP circles and will actually be seeing him next week at the SIPNOC event outside of Washington, D.C. Having said all of that, Alan certainly did not have to write the high praise he did... and I certainly do value his comments given that Alan is the author of another VoIP security book and was also heavily involved with the ZRTP protocol.

I greatly appreciate the reviews from both Mario and Alan because reviews definitely do matter ... and do influence buying behavior.

To that end, if you have read Seven Deadliest Unified Communications Attacks, would you please consider writing a review on Amazon.com? It would be great if more readers did. (Thanks in advance if you do.)

Meeting My Reviewer with the Oddest Review Headline ("Offal")

I admit that I never get tired of meeting face-to-face with people who have read the Seven Deadliest Unified Communications Attacks and I enjoy particularly meeting with those folks who have taken the time out of their busy lives to write up a review of my book. I do read all the reviews I find about the book, figuring that I can always learn from what others say. So far I've been quite pleased and humbled by the positive reviews the book has received to date.

As I mentioned previously, though, I was quite surprised by one review headline entitled "Offal Is Not Awful, and the Seven Deadliest Attacks" and could honestly not even remotely figure out what my book had to do with offal (and it turned out to have nothing to do with it).

When I was down in Miami earlier this year for the ITEXPO conference, I had a chance to meet the reviewer in question, David Byrd of Broadsoft, and naturally I asked if he minded a picture being taken (he didn't):

Thanks again, David, for your kind words - and memorable headline!

SecureLogix Releases Report: Voice And Unified Communications State of Security 2011

By way of the Voice of VOIPSA blog, I learned that SecureLogix had formally released their "Voice & Unified Communications: State of Security Report 2011". I saw a preview of this report in one of the final sessions at the Enterprise Connect event at the beginning of March and the data seemed quite compelling.

To put this in perspective, SecureLogix sells solutions that monitor your network and protect your VoIP/UC systems. While that creates a fairly obvious bias for a report like this, it also means that they do have great data from literally hundreds of networks where their tools have been deployed.

They've done a nice job packaging up the data, providing very readable charts, including solution diagrams and listing all sorts of resources at the end. The report is available now from the NoJitter.com site:

http://www.nojitter.com/sponsoredcontent/view/cid/3900003

You need to login to the site to download it today, but the folks I know at SecureLogix say that they will also be making it available from their own site in a few months.

Sure, you have to read the report understanding that it is written from the viewpoint of a vendor with an interest in selling security solutions... but regardless it is definitely a worthwhile document to read through. Kudos to SecureLogix for creating this report - and I look forward to seeing how it changes and evolves in the years ahead.

P.S. I found it interesting that the report talked about modems, which is something I actually didn't even touch on in the book and don't really think of as "VoIP" or "UC"... However, they certainly are components of the larger network security area of concern.

If you enjoyed 7 Deadliest UC Attacks, you may also like the fiction book "Counting From Zero"

If you enjoyed the subject matter in my Seven Deadliest Unified Communications Attacks, you may enjoy the fiction book, Counting from Zero, written by my friend Alan Johnston. The book, available as an eBook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and other sites, is not about Unified Communications or VoIP security, but rather about Internet security in general and specifically the rise of botnets and all their attendant troubles.

It's a story... about an Internet security researcher named Mick O'Malley who recognizes the signs of an impending global "zero day" attack via a massive botnet... and how he discovers it... how the various forces out there conspire against him... how he and his allies fight back...

I don't know how it ends, yet, as I'm only 2/3rds of the way through it, but I'm enjoying the story so far quite a good bit.

I've known Alan for a good number of years mainly through IETF and SIP-related connections including the SIP Forum... we routinely meet up at various conferences and these days of course connect through social networks. While Alan's written a number of technical books related to the SIP protocol, this is his first foray into fiction and on his new blog site he explains the journey that brought him into self-publishing and the world of ebooks. I commend him on taking the leap and I look forward to seeing how it goes.

I've thought, too, of pursuing the fiction route myself at times... if I go back a couple of years, one of the best presentations I've given on VoIP security was one where I did away with all the traditional ways of talking about security and instead told a story called "The Saga of SysAdmin Steve". The story hit all the points I would have covered anyway, but in a way that was much more engaging... was much more memorable by the attendees... and was much more fun as a presenter. The challenge, of course, is that such a presentation can take a great amount more time to create. But it's certainly been on my mind lately to do more presentations and perhaps even some writing along those lines.

Meanwhile, I congratulate Alan on the launch of "Counting from Zero" and encourage you all to check out the book's website and Alan's blog and, if you are so inclined, to purchase a copy. I'm definitely enjoying the read so far.

7 Deadliest UC Attacks Mentioned at Enterprise Connect

I've been very pleased by the comments I've received from people at the Enterprise Connect show this week in Orlando who have read the book. A couple of people mentioned they've bought it for the Kindle while at the show. And analyst Blair Pleasant mentioned the book a couple of times in one of her sessions (Thanks, Blair!).

As an author, it's wonderful to hear that the book is really helping people understand UC security issues.

Thanks again for all the kind words and mentions!