Security and Risk Challenges of Voice over IP Telephony

Advancements in the information and communication technology (ICT) have given rise to high speed communicating networks with revolutionary impacts on the global trade and commerce. They have created a new Internet which has evolved with many business and personal tools. Among these tools is the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony that enables the transfer of voice calls via the Internet instead of the local telephone company. As customary with many new information technologies, VoIP brings new opportunities with risks and security challenges. This paper discusses these challenges with the techniques to manage them.