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News Release 06-054

Collaboration Will Investigate Vulnerabilities of Rapidly Growing Internet Phone and Multimedia Systems

New research aims to plug holes in "Voice over Internet Protocol" before they happen

A unique, secure test bed will be used to investigate Voice over Internet Protocol vulnerabilities.

A new, secure test bed will be used to investigate Voice over Internet Protocol vulnerabilities.


April 4, 2006

This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued four awards totaling $600,000 to the University of North Texas (UNT) to lead a multi-university collaboration to develop a geographically distributed, secure test bed to analyze vulnerabilities in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)--an increasingly popular technology that turns audio signals into digital data that can be transmitted over the Internet

The three-year project will investigate voice spam prevention (VoIP phone systems can be spammed like email), attacks on networks and Internet resources that render them unavailable (denial of service), quality of service, and 911 service dependability. The unique test bed will also be used to discover security holes arising from operating VoIP with conventional phone networks.

"Proactively securing the next-generation infrastructure for voice communications is critical for us all," said UNT's Ram Dantu, who leads the project. "Our research will identify vulnerabilities in the technology and establish solutions--before damage is done."

VoIP allows users with a computer and a standard Internet connection to make toll-free calls anywhere in the world. It also handles video and instant messaging. Companies such as Vonage and AT&T are aggressively deploying the technology, and one study predicts some 24 million U.S. households will be using VoIP by 2008. Government agencies are already implementing strategies to use VoIP-based systems.

History generally credits Alexander Graham Bell with inventing the telephone in 1876, but in 1880 he devised "the greatest invention I have ever made; greater than the telephone." The photophone, patented by Bell and Charles Sumner Tainter, transmitted sound on a beam of light using the same principles as today's fiber optic communications systems.

When Bell and Tainter used the only existing photophone to communicate between two buildings in Washington, D.C., guarding the content of their message was probably not an issue, but today, secure communications systems are a top priority.

Rita Virginia Rodriguez, the NSF program director who oversees the project, said, "VoIP security requires immediate attention, and this research addresses a number of critical aspects needed to help prevent imminent threats." Rodriguez believes the work will have immediate and long-term impact for the technology, and importantly, will provide faculty and students at each university with real-life telecommunications research experience.

Since last year, NSF has supported Dantu to investigate specific methods to prevent voice spamming. Karl Levitt, who directs NSF's CyberTrust program commented, "Dantu has a keen awareness of the nation's vital need to expedite research into VoIP security. His work identifying and applying intrusion detection methods will help alleviate the nuisance created by spam and fits well with the goals of the new test bed award."

In addition to UNT, the project includes researchers and resources at Columbia University, Purdue University and the University of California-Davis.

The team is committed to disseminating their findings throughout academia, industry and government, giving all technology developers guidelines for preventing security breaches. Already, their VoIP security workshops have been well attended by organizations including the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Communications Commission, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Security Agency.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Richard (Randy) Vines, NSF, (703) 292-7963, email: rvines@nsf.gov

Program Contacts
Rita V. Rodriguez, NSF, (703) 292-8950, email: rrodrigu@nsf.gov
Karl Levitt, NSF, (703) 292-8950, email: klevitt@nsf.gov

Principal Investigators
Ram Dantu, University of North Texas, (214) 629-9450, email: rdantu@unt.edu

The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

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