RE: VoIP Assessment

["Bob Bell (rtbell)" <rtbell () cisco com>]

Mark -

My point is that IP Telephony within an enterprise can be secure. There
are many things which can be done (such as strong authentication of the
endpoints [both the call control agent and the communications
endpoint)in conjunction with encrypted and authenticated signaling and
media flows, control of provisioning information and images in such a
manner that the probability of corruption or modification is extremely
low, etc. The blanket statement that "VoIP is not secure" is extremely
misleading. If you apply no safeguards to the system (note I am
indicating a system level protection) then I would agree with you that,
just like file transfers or database access or any of the other
applications that exist on a network, it is not secure. If on the other
hand, reasonable measures are taken (and there are commercial products
that do take them) then the level of security is commenserate with the
level of risk. 

There are a large number of organizations today who are getting a great
deal of press coverage by claiming that "the sky is falling" when they
are making assumptions that are simply not true. One of the ones that
really gets to me is that if you do IP Telephony, you must admit into
your network directly any attempted VoIP calls that come at you by
opening holes in the perimeter fire walls to admit the traffic. First of
all, that is not realistic. We do not do that for web access, nor email
access nor any other form of access, why in the world would we do it for
voice. It will go through a gateway type device on a DMZ so that the
messaging can truly be validated and verified and so that the external
party does not have access to information that the corporation deems
confidential. Secondly, if it is a remote worker, then the connection
will involve a VPN link and so will not be admitted unchecked either.
Just because the standards groups envisioned a totally uncontrolled
environment, there is nothing that required enterprises (or residential
users for that matter) to simply close their eyes and say "cut here".

I would agree that there are some "security" consultants that may not be
either as complete and accurate as they should be in this area. But that
is true of all consultants and all areas. We should not blindly reject
as "unprotectable" or "unsecurable" a system that has been demonstrated
to be securable.

We, the security forces, need to assess the risks and remediation
methods to determine both effectiveness and functionality. We must make
IPT or VoIP into a viable technology with the protections that are
required. We cannot simply assert that there is no hope, because there
is.

Bob

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark Teicher [mailto:mht3 () earthlink net] 
> Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 20:24
> To: Bob Bell (rtbell)
> Cc: intel96; pen-test () securityfocus com
> Subject: RE: VoIP Assessment
>
> Fundamentally, VoIP is not secure, as originally stated, It 
> depends on what an organization is attempting to validate.  
> Network security consulting practices will attempt to dazzle 
> an organization with their "VoIP assessment or VoIP Readiness 
> services" .  Some concentrate more on VoIP network readiness 
> and propose bandwidth analysis utilizing tools that either 
> home grown or commercial.  This may provide some insight on 
> jitter, latency and other such issues when implementing or 
> migrating to a VoIP infrastructure.  Discussion of security 
> issues arise when "former security investigators" or "Ph D" 
> types get involved in the discussion and start rattling off  
> statements "As telephone communications move to the IP world, 
> it will become increasingly easier to intercept and monitor 
> telephone calls by anyone."  and "How businesses handle 
> threats to their 
> converged network will be crucial to their success."   Great buzzword 
> statements, but they miss the questions that an organization 
> may have r egarding the underlying security of VoIP and the 
> various aspects of enabling options that allow for 
> availability and ease of use for end users.
>
>
>
>
> At 11:24 AM 7/20/2005, Bob Bell \(rtbell\) wrote:
> > Mark, Intel96 -
> >
> > There are a lot of conflicting opinions floating around as to the 
> > security of VoIP systems. One of the things that you need to do is 
> > establish whether you are dealing with a bounded system, (i.e. an 
> > enterprise PBX replacement) or an unbounded one (i.e. SKYPE) as they 
> > have considerable differences in both their vulnerability and the 
> > resources available to deal with issues. Secondly, security 
> of VoIP is 
> > not a single dimensional problem. Many of the issues of 
> protecting VoIP 
> > occur a layers far below the application layer which is where VoIP 
> > lives. So, you need to examine the issue from a systems approach not 
> > simply a point solution for VoIP. Finally, there is a great 
> deal more 
> > to providing SYSTEMIC protection beyond simply protecting 
> the protocol.
> > This includes things like the provisioning of the endpoints, the 
> > control of and validation of the images contained in the 
> endpoints, the 
> > authentication and authorization schemes for the endpoints 
> and users, 
> > etc. If I can be of help, please feel free to contact me.
> >
> > Bob
> >
> > IPCBU Security Architect
> > Cisco Systems, Inc.
> > 576 S. Brentwood Ln.
> > Bountiful, UT 84010
> > 801-294-3034 (v)
> > 801-294-3023 (f)
> > 801-971-4200 (c)
> > rtbell () cisco com
> >
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Mark Teicher [mailto:mht3 () earthlink net]
> > > Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2005 16:40
> > > To: intel96
> > > Cc: pen-test () securityfocus com
> > > Subject: Re: VoIP Assessment
> > >
> > > What specific items have you been tasked to validate?
> > > Could be as simple as :
> > >          Are the components VoIP capable?
> > >                  If so, then what protocols have been implemented 
> > > (Y/N)
> > >                     If x protocol, if implemented correctly (i.e 
> > > when enabled, does it process the traffic correctly (Y/N)
> > >                           If x protocol, if implemented correctly 
> > > (i.e. when x protocol is disabled, does it block VoIP traffic 
> > > inbound/outbound? (Y/N)
> > >
> > > and so and so on
> > >
> > > Lots of those "security" type experts will overstate the 
> obvious and 
> > > start rattling off big words like MITM attacks, Resource 
> exhaustion,
> > > H.323 attacks, SIP Overflow attacks, etc, etc, but IMHO, simplify 
> > > what the tasks are, and break those tasks into simple 
> steps that any 
> > > former senior security consultant can do by utilizing a checklist 
> > > approach, otherwise one gets into the battle with the "puffed out 
> > > chest security wannabes "
> > >
> > > /m
> > > At 01:40 PM 7/19/2005, intel96 wrote:
> > > > I have been asked to look at the security of a VoIP
> > > architecture.  Has
> > > > anyone conducted a security assessment against VoIP or the
> > > components
> > > > that make up the architecture?
> > > >
> > > > Thanks,
> > > >
> > > > Intel96