SIP Security
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is used to establish, modify, and terminate multimedia IP sessions including VoIP telephony, video, presence, streaming media, and instant messaging.
The deployment and delivery of SIP value-added services in the public network carries security issues that end users and service providers must understand. Service providers carry the biggest responsibility as they have to offer a secure and reliable service to the end user. They must show that this value-added service does not compromise existing security and that the end user's public presence is protected and managed. The Service Providers must also secure their own networks from outside attacks and service abuse.
Deploying SIP services in the network exposes its core and edge entities to security threats such as network DoS/DDoS attacks, SIP level floods and other SIP vulnerabilities. Floods of SIP messages and UDP packets can overwhelm servers, bandwidth resources can be consumed and the quality of voice and video over IP can be degraded. If any of these activities are left unchecked, SIP server crashes may result, hindering or even completely paralyzing a business’s SIP functionality.
SIP Security Solutions
SIP security solutions should protect the network from outside attacks and abuse as well as safeguard the public presence of the user. Understanding the potential threats and consequences of these attacks will enable service providers to effectively implement SIP security tools and defenses. By providing a scalable, SIP-aware controller solution with SIP optimization capabilities, these threats and attacks can be prevented before they cause any damage to the network or the user. SIP-aware devices include soft switches, SIP application servers and session border controllers.
The benefits of these SIP security measures not only encompass an enhanced user experience, but also improve service continuity, and include SIP optimization of high-touch and loaded/congested points for IMS core implementations across all of the SIP-aware network elements. SIP security solutions should also include behavioral DoS/ DDoS and intrusion prevention systems. Preventing against DoS and other attacks as well as the prevention of server overload through SIP load balancing is essential to the continued high level performance of a service provider's network.
With the appropriate SIP security strategy in place, service providers and enterprises will be able to provide available network access to users while guarding business-sensitive information from harmful traffic. Along with protecting a system, security advantages extend to future growth within a network. As SIP traffic increases, security allows for scalability in a network.
Radware's SIP Load Balancing Solution
Protection of VoIP and SIP value-added services is essential in preserving the quality of voice when it comes to voice over IP communication. SIP security tools protect these services from the vulnerabilities that can be exposed when using SIP.
Radware’s SIP Director, a comprehensive SIP Application Delivery Controller (ADC) provides integrated SIP-service and network security protecting operators’ SIP servers, core and edge SIP network elements against attack. SIP Director provides signature and behavioral based DoS/DDoS security delivering “zero-minute, zero-touch, zero false-positive” detection and mitigation of SIP layer floods, worms and SIP protocol exploits.
For questions or more information about our SIP security solutions, please contact us and a knowledgeable Radware representative will answer promptly.