Finally! A Security Solution to Detect Network-wide RTC Threats

We have all heard about real-time communications (RTC) attacks where unsuspecting businesses are hit with toll fraud, SIP access attacks or even ransomware.  For example, there is the case of a business in Kentucky which was stuck with a crippling $10,000 phone bill when hackers made more than “200 calls in exactly 2 hours to the same number in Buenavista, Cuba.”  Or the case of a New Hampshire Veterinarian clinic hit with a Telephony Denial of Service (T-DoS) attack in which the attacker demanded $1,400 in bitcoin (i.e. ransomware) to stop the attack and “release” their hostage taken phone number.  And, how about the widely published Massachusetts case in which bad actors hacked into a small-business phone system and made $900,000 in calls to Somalia…$900,000 - OMG!  I could go on, but I think you get the point.

So why don’t service providers prevent these attacks for their customers?  And, why don’t larger enterprises prevent RTC attacks from occurring in their widely dispersed networks?  I will tell you why - they never had one solution that could cover an entire communications network with visibility, policy, and enforcement.  That is until now!

Here at Ribbon we deeply focused on the need to properly secure RTC networks for our customers.  And today, I am very excited about the general availability of Ribbon Protect and its initial set of applications to detect and mitigate RTC security threats, telephony-DoS attacks, toll fraud, robo-calling as well as enable network-wide monitoring and troubleshooting operations.  This innovative, new big data platform uses machine learning and behavioral analytics to provide security and visibility functionality to our customers. The Protect platform embodies Ribbon’s commitment to continuing technological innovation. This release also marks the very first new product launched under the 9 month-old Ribbon brand…a true milestone for Ribbon Communications.  

What makes the Protect platform special is its ability to detect any type of RTC network anomaly, enabling visualization of end to end call flows and diagnosing service quality issues.  More importantly, and something no one else does today, is the platform’s range of automated security enforcement policies based on quantitative RTC network information. These polices can then be pushed to any “enforcer” anywhere in the network.   Protect provides that centralized and single view of the end to end network which is critical in RTC security threat detection, fraud management, and network operations.

As we move forward, Ribbon is extending its clearly known expertise in RTC security for both enterprise and service provider market segments.  For everyone involved in taking Protect from a vision to a game-changing GA product, with high profile customers already in place, is nothing short of amazing.  Exciting times…with more to come!