VoIP spam 'can be countered'

There are numerous countermeasures which can protect VoIP services from spam attacks, an industry expert has highlighted.

Although the increasing use of IP telephony may attract more spam attacks over time, Telappliant managing director Tan Aksoy suggested that security feature could offer good protection.

He said: "At the end of the day [VoIP] is a telephone service and it allows people to contact you through the internet so you will probably start seeing an increasing number of spam-types" as the popularity of VoIP increases.

But IP telephony users should not be worried as Mr Aksoy snoted that there are many methods of countering spam.

"Good security and a VoIP provider that does not allow random in-bound calling, there are lots of ways of doing it," he said.

VoIP spam refers to the potential for telemarketing companies to make use of essentially free VoIP-to-VoIP calls and contact hundreds of companies or individuals without incurring high costs.

Currently, VoIP spam remains a minor concern, due to the relatively young age of the technology, and a careful selection of a VoIP provider should help ensure it does not become a problem in the future.