Nortel Networks launched a Secure Telephony initiative aimed at bolstering security measures that cross functional boundaries between traditional, enterprise circuit-switched telephony, IP telephony, wireless IP telephony, or a mixed solution. The Secure Telephony initiative comprises three main elements:
- Security Best Practices, which relies on comprehensive security audits to provide physical isolation of discrete areas of the network through VLANs and firewalls, ensuring that the voice network component would not be accessible in an intrusion event. It also covers authentication and access control, encryption for access and encryption of voice traffic traversing public networks. Audits can also find configuration holes in the network using Intrusion Detection tools.
- Telephony Product Security: Nortel Networks has taken measures to harden the operating systems of key platforms that support IP telephony by using unique operating system (OS) software and disabling access services, like FTP or SNMP, when those services are not required. Security upgrades are being released for the Succession 1000, Succession MX (Multimedia Exchange), Succession Business Communications Manager and Meridian 1 platforms to make them more resistant to viruses and hacker attacks.
- Security Product: Nortel Networks' security platforms include the Alteon Switched Firewall System and the Contivity Secure IP Services Gateway, which is specifically designed to secure transmission of IP data and voice traffic via a VPN tunnel. Its stateful firewall has been enhanced to support inspection of both H.323 and SIP standards.
