VOIP/ FOIP and Encryption

[Anonymous]

Hi all, We are using Netvanta 7100 PBX.  I was wondering if VOIP transmissions are encrypted by default and if not, is there a way to encrypt?  Also, if using VOIP (FXS) for fax transmissions, is there are way to encrypt that traffic as well?

[jayh · Accepted solution]

Not encrypted and no easy way to ensure end-to-end encryption unless you control both endpoints. As you're typically connecting to a random endpoint on the PSTN through one or more unknown carriers, end-to-end encryption isn't practical. Having said that, it's still easier to clip a butt-set on an analog twisted pair than to intercept your particular RTP stream in a pipe full of terabytes of Internet traffic.

For traffic between known IP endpoints you could use an IPSec VPN. There's also SRTP but it isn't widely supported among carriers. See RFC3711.

[Anonymous]

Thx for the info.