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The increasing anxiety over VoIP security threats, Vonage (News - Alert) UK’s new “enhanced online shopping experience,” and a new study revealing Skype’s dominance in Europe and other parts of the world were among the many topics grabbing headlines on TMCnet this week.

Early on Monday, TMC President and Editor-in-Chief Rich Tehrani posted an informative article about “The Latest VoIP Security Threat.” As Rich pointed out, while there are many vendors in the VoIP security market who are being proactive, “some, such as Sipera, have revealed vulnerabilities of existing equipment and, more recently, one person (Peter Cox, co-founder and former CTO of BorderWare (News - Alert)) has even released a proof of concept program named SIPtap, with the goal of showing how easy it is — once a program is slipped onto a corporate computer via a Trojan horse or some other means, to record enterprise VoIP calls as .wav files for later analysis.”

“The issue of protecting VoIP calls is likely something corporate decision makers gloss over all too often, and just because companies are not reporting more security incidents, does not mean they aren’t happening,” Rich wrote. “In the end, if you are responsible for the IP communications infrastructure of your company, you need to be 100% up to date on the latest solutions on the market. For this reason it is essential you study the problem as thoroughly as time allows and network with others in the space.”

So what’s the best way to do this? Attend Internet Telephony Conference & Expo in Miami, January 23-25, 2008, where there will be a session titled “Security Challenges in the Enterprise.”

Actually, the need for more sharing of information about VoIP security threats was reinforced on Thursday, when VoIP gear maker Cisco revealed it is possible to eavesdrop on remote conversations using Cisco VoIP phones. In a company statement, Cisco said “an attacker with valid Extension Mobility authentication credentials could cause a Cisco Unified IP Phone configured to use the Extension Mobility feature to transmit or receive a Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) audio stream.” The company added that Extension Mobility authentication credentials are not tied to individual IP phones and that “any Extension Mobility account configured on an IP phone's Cisco Unified Communications Manager/CallManager (CUCM) server can be used to perform an eavesdropping attack.” Cisco has reportedly developed some workarounds to help combat this problem and is also proactively working to eliminate future VoIP threats. Needless to say, when it comes to vulnerabilities, you better stay on top of what’s going on out there.

Now, let’s check out the other news from the week.

Also on Monday, Voxalot, a provider of global voice applications, announced that it has signed a deal with the social networking community Facebook (News - Alert), which will integrate its VoxCall voice communication application into its site. The VoxCall for Facebook application supports calls between friends that belong to any voice network and allows users to easily click on their friend's faces to initiate phone calls. In addition, users can call in to a private or public chat session as well as set their availability status. Most importantly, it allows users to have voice communications without having to reveal their phone numbers. To use the app, Facebook users need only sign up for a free Voxalot number. Users subscribing to an open SIP-based VoIP service plan may also utilize the application.

Also making headlines on Monday was VoIP provider iBasis’ announcement that it had added new features to its Pingo VoIP service. Specifically, Pingo’s new interactive voice response system alerts consumers when their account has a low balance – plus they can now replenish their accounts with the simple push of the * key. Pingo has also introduced enhanced speed-dialing capabilities for consumers and businesses, enabling them to easily and quickly connect to domestic or international calling destinations. Users can register mobile or fixed-line phones in their account online, call their local Pingo access number and press a designated speed dial number.

On Tuesday, Vonage UK, a subsidiary of Vonage Holdings Corp., announced that it had inked a contract with Web chat solutions company inQ to facilitate a new, more “personal” mode of contact between the public at large and the embattled VoIP provider. As per the deal, the financial terms of which were not disclosed, inQ’s ChatCommerce services will be integrated into Vonage UK’s Web site so that customers and potential customers can chat with live representatives, who will be available 24/7 to answer questions and address concerns. That means people considering signing up for Vonage UK’s VoIP phone service can, for example, ask questions about the future of the company and be reassured that Vonage will stay in business well into the future, regardless of the fact that it must now pay hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements to three major U.S. carriers for infringing on their patents for VoIP technology. The idea is perhaps that getting reassurance from a live rep will go a long way to ease people’s concerns, considering the recent demise of U.S.-based pure-play VoIP provider SunRocket, which suddenly and unexpectedly shut down operations, without warning its 200,000 customers, in July. In my article, I speculated that perhaps Vonage is doing this in order to help reverse the damage to its image following the recent patent infringement lawsuits brought against it by Verizon, Sprint and AT&T (News - Alert). The leading U.S. standalone VoIP provider must now pay over $200 million to those three carries for infringing on their patents.

Also on Tuesday, VoIP phone system maker Polycom announced that it has opened a new product and solutions development center in Hyderabad, India. The new facility is in one of Polycom’s fastest growing markets and will address the high demand for IP communications in India. The Hyderabad center will house development programs for the company's portfolio of voice communications solutions for mobile, desktop and conferencing applications, and will support the company’s growing list of established sales and distribution channels in India. Bharti Teletech Ltd. and Ingram Micro distribute Polycom voice and video solutions across India through its key business partners. These resellers then market Polycom solutions to end users.

Yet another item of interest on Tuesday was 8x8 Inc.’s announcement that it had signed an agreement with SYNNEX Corporation, a business process services company, which gives SYNNEX the right to distribute 8x8’s Packet8 Virtual Office hosted iPBX phone service through its network of resellers. The deal will help 8x8 bolster sales of its leading business VoIP service and will enable SYNNEX and its partners to offer a highly reliable, all-IP-based phone system to small to medium sized businesses, thus bringing in new revenue streams. SYNNEX will be offering this powerful solution as part of its Technology-as-a-Service (TaaS) offering. As I said in my article, the allure of going with a hosted VoIP system is becoming harder and harder for small business owners to resist. An IDC study published in August predicts that the market for hosted VoIP services among U.S. businesses will reach about $456 million by the end of 2008.

Also making our headlines on Tuesday was IPcelerate’s unveiling of Ipfusion, an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for users of IPcelerate VoIP technologies. Leveraging the IDE, users will be able to easily design, develop, test and personalize business-critical IP phone applications. IDE also provides interfaces to third party databases and incorporates business objects from existing IPcelerate IPsession and IPstudio products. IPfusion's innovative design features a "drag and drop" interface, user-friendly pull-down menus, and intuitive logic found in commonly used Windows-based development environments. IPcelerate reseller and development partners will be able to use IPfusion to easily create applications for a specific customer, verticalized applications, and horizontal solutions for their specific markets, thereby differentiating themselves and adding a new revenue stream for increased profitability.

On Wednesday, TMCnet’s Erik Linask published an article about Avaya Vice President of Developer Relations Eric Rossman’s Keynote during the 2007 Avaya Developer Conference held earlier in the week in Eatontown, New Jersey. During his talk, entitled “Avaya: Developers the Key to Business Communications,” Rossman noted that the real value of a computer wasn’t realized until applications for it were developed — and the same, he said, holds true for voice communications. The true value of technology has not become apparent until now, with the development of applications to consolidate and unify speech and other business processes. It is Avaya’s mission to drive this transition further, to continue to create additional business value for its user group through the promotion of coordinated applications that will simplify business processes while generating additional revenue for each partner, including the end user. To read Erik’s excellent article about this important industry event, click here.

Also making a splash on the TMCnet homepage on Wednesday was the news that 8x8’s new Packet8 Mobile VoIP Service now works on nearly 450 mobile phones -- up from the 340 models mentioned when the service was introduced last week. The new mobile VoIP service can be used on a wide range of mobile devices running Windows Mobile Palm and Symbian operating systems. Popular makes and models supporting the service include BlackBerry (News - Alert), Nokia, Palm, Motorola and Samsung. The service lets users dial natively from their mobile phones – in other words, there is no need to use a calling card or call back service, nor is there a need to dial from a WiFi access point or to place calls over the data portion of a wireless carrier’s network (resulting in expensive monthly data usage fees). All a user has to do is download a software client from the Packet8 website, or of they do not have a data plan, they can download the app from their PC (which can be sent via email). Once loaded, the service is simple to use: Unlike other mobile VoIP services that require the user to dial numerous access numbers, followed by lengthy PINs in addition to their destination number, MobileTalk lets users dial numbers directly from the address book, contact list, or speed dial on their handset. Once a number is dialed, the MobileTalk application identifies the international prefix and redirects the call to a local Packet8 network access number, and from there the call is connected over the Packet8 VoIP network -- which delivers exceptionally good sound quality compared to other VoIP services which connect calls via who-knows-how-many network hops.

Also making our headlines on Wednesday was VoIP Softswitch solutions provider Tadiran Telecom’s announcement that it had signed a contract to use the consulting services of KickStart Alliance, a team of sales and marketing executives which helps technology firms develop and launch successful sales and marketing campaigns. More specifically, Tadiran, which provides communications solutions to enterprises, including the most advanced VoIP softswitches available on the market, will be using the services of Janet Gregory, co-founder of KickStart and former VP of sales for telephony solutions company ShoreTel. Gregory’s services will no doubt play an important role in Tadiran’s future success. In October the company announced the launch of a new loyalty incentive program for its reseller partners, as well as two new co-marketing advertising campaigns that will help its partners in grow their revenue.

Getting our attention on Thursday was the results of a new study from German traffic management company ipoque showing that 95 percent of all Internet VoIP traffic in Germany, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, the Middle East and Australia, combined, is from Skype. This is surprising considering that consumers in each of these regions have options, in terms of the number of VoIP providers competing in each of those markets. The study, however, finds that the percentage of Skype users varies from region to region considerably. It also finds that VoIP traffic only accounts for about 1 percent of all public Internet traffic in those regions. To learn more about this interesting and well-researched study, which was conducted in August and September, click here.

On Friday, Gaithersburg, Maryland-based NexTone announced that carrier solutions provider Verscom had employed its IntelliConnect System to offer hosted VoIP partitioning services to carrier customers. NexTone’s IntelliConnect System includes NexTone’s Session Border Controller (SBC), Multi-protocol Session Exchange (MSX), and Real-time Session Manager (RSM). Neither company has mentioned anything about the financial details of the deal. The deal appears to be an expanded relationship as Verscom has already supplied numerous NexTone networks to carriers in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) over the last two years.

Also making news on Friday was VoIP phone maker snom’s announcement that it will be giving away prizes during the upcoming holiday season. From December 1 through December 24, all users of snom IP phones will have the chance to win daily prizes, which include a snom 370, an Allnet All4000 Ethernet Sensormeter and a complete snom/Starface bundle. Users of snom IP phones can register for the giveaways on snom’s Web page. Each user will receive a personal URL, which they can map onto one of the programmable function keys as an Action URL. Users can then press the function key at least once each day to see if they are a winner

Last but not least was Friday’s announcement that Veraz and Telarix are teaming up to provide carriers with next generation routing. This joint solution will enable carriers to financially optimize routing “on the fly” as network conditions change. The integrated system includes Veraz's ControlSwitch softswitch and Telarix's iXRoute and iXTranslate next generation routing optimization solution. As part of the joint venture, Telarix has joined the Veraz Open Solution Alliance program (VOSA), which brings together hardware vendors, software developers, and systems integrators to create and deliver best-in-class solutions enabling service providers to take advantage of pre-integrated solutions that can be tailored to meet their unique business requirements.

Well, that’s about it for this week’s VoIP Week in Review. Perhaps it wasn’t the most exciting week for VoIP – but one thing’s for sure, there’s no shortage of news coming out of this vibrant and ever-blossoming technology space.

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Patrick Barnard is Assignment Editor for TMCnet and Associate Editor for Customer Interaction Solutions magazine. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page.