Podcast ¦ Next In Queue: I Know You Called featuring Douglas Tait

Summary

In this podcast, Douglas Tate, the Director of Telecom Global Markets at Oracle, discusses the threats in the voice channel and the importance of protecting contact centers from malicious activity. He highlights the use of SIP headers and metadata in identifying potential security risks and emphasizes the need for stronger measures to secure the voice network. Tate also mentions the impact of social engineering attacks and the role of AI in mitigating emerging threats.

Key Points

• The use of star 69 to identify the last call return feature is now outdated due to the rise of VoIP and phone number spoofing.
• Oracle is utilizing the data in SIP headers to identify calls with potential malicious activity and provide protection to contact centers.
• Social engineering attacks exploit the human tendency to trust and can lead to significant cybersecurity failures.
• The SIP protocol provides valuable metadata about incoming calls, including the source, device, and country.
• By analyzing SIP headers, organizations can detect and prevent suspicious calls effectively.
• Contact centers face the challenge of providing customer support while ensuring data privacy and security.
• Existing protection measures, such as marking incoming spam calls, are insufficient to combat evolving threats.
• An effective solution would involve analyzing SIP header data for multiple checks and implementing a common interface for enhanced security.
• The implementation of platinum-level protection for contact centers may require additional costs.
• Hackers are continuously adapting their tactics, utilizing analytics, dark web information, and AI to bypass security measures.

Key Statistics

• The chorus in the REM song “Star 69” refers to the access number for the last call return feature in North American telephones.
• Caesars and MGM Resorts suffered significant losses due to cybersecurity attacks originating from social engineering through phone calls.
• Oracle can perform over 2000 tests on SIP header metadata to identify potential threats and provide warnings or additional security measures.

Key Takeaways

• Threats to contact centers through the voice channel are a significant concern in today’s cybersecurity landscape.
• Protecting the voice network requires analyzing and leveraging the metadata contained in SIP headers.
• Social engineering attacks exploit human trust and can lead to data breaches and system vulnerabilities.
• Implementing stronger security measures for the voice channel is essential to protect organizations and customer data.
• Organizations must balance the need for customer experience with zero trust principles to combat emerging threats.
• Solutions that leverage AI and advanced analytics can enhance the detection and prevention of voice channel threats.
• Collaboration between telecom providers, contact centers, and cybersecurity experts is crucial to develop effective defense mechanisms.
• Enhancing awareness and education about voice channel threats is necessary to ensure a proactive approach to cybersecurity.
• The industry should prioritize the integration of advanced security measures into telephony systems to address vulnerabilities effectively.
• Investing in platinum-level protection or equivalent solutions can provide an additional layer of defense against voice channel threats.
• Continuous monitoring and updating of security protocols are critical to stay ahead of evolving tactics employed by hackers.
• Efforts should be made to standardize and share best practices in securing the voice channel across industries and organizations.