PABX fraud unmasked

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking in the local market is being associated with various fraudulent activities and MTN Business is on a drive to educate its customers.

Says Justin Colyn, General Manager for FMC at MTN Business: ‚Certainly fraud is occurring but what is important to note is that the fraudulent activity is directly associated with the PABX equipment that an organisation may be using, and not through SIP Trunking per se. In fact, PABX fraud often occurs when an organisation’s PABX system has been breached or compromised and is not effectively configured and controlled allowing access codes to be abused or used by unauthorised personal.‚

Statistics indicate that PBX fraud is on the rise and growing in volume and sophistication. Estimates* of the annual losses from PBX fraud worldwide now range from $35-40 million. Often the cost to company associated with this type of fraud directly relates back to lengthy or international calls being made on the PABX system – ones that are being charged back to the organisation and in most cases are not picked up by the business.

‚MTN Business certainly monitors our network of international call traffic and ensure that we alert our customers accordingly to any abnormal traffic load that could be due to potential PABX fraud,‚ continues Colyn. ‚However, ultimately it is the responsibility of the organisation to monitor such potential security flaws in their PABX.‚

To determine if your organisation is an unfortunate end-user of such PABX fraud, MTN Business recommends that you access the detailed records of the calls being made via your PABX systems and work closely with your PABX vendor in monitoring international call patterns. These records will indicate the calls that should not be taking place on your existing PABX. Additionally, ensuring that your PABX is completely secure requires you to work with your vendor to configure and secure your PABX system, making sure that no gaps or bridges exist. Furthermore, it is always advisable to put international call limits in place in this regard, as the international calls are the ones that can create the largest risk for the business in terms of costs, as they are the most expensive.

Considering the change the market is experiencing, it is crucial for telecommunication providers to be transparent and provide customers with insight into the type of technology that will provide them with a longer business retention cycle as well as the possible risks and what to look out for.

‚The fact is that high maintenance costs, fixed infrastructure restrictions coupled with utilisation and inflexibility concerns and now, security fraud, have fast eroded the benefits of the PABX – a traditionally purposeful product. As we aggressively move towards mobile convergence and cloud applications it becomes clear that the ‚traditional’ PABX no longer delivers the value and security required for growing businesses,‚ concludes Colyn.

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