Apr
30
2013
A leader in the pharmacy automation industry for over 20 years, Ateb provides innovative solutions to their customers in the ever-evolving healthcare industry. Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ateb offers a robust set of patient communication solutions to pharmacies nation-wide that educate, remind and reinforce information to patients to help them manage their prescriptions.
When the time came to update its Pharmacy Line® interactive voice response (IVR) solutions for some of its biggest customers, they began the process of evaluating vendors and looking
for solutions that were flexible enough to meet their needs but also cost-effective and well-supported.
“We were using another vendor’s hardware, but when we saw the opportunity to revitalize the solution for our customers, we took the time to research alternatives and compiled a fairly ambitious set of requirements,” recalls Frank Casadonte, Ateb’s Vice President of Research and Development.
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Apr
23
2013
Are you doing enough to protect your PBX solution?
There are three essential ways in which you can greatly enhance the security of your WARP Appliance running Asterisk.
- Firewalling to limit access: This can be done through a combination of a software-based firewall on the WARP Appliance (usually through iptables) and a hardware-based firewall in the network. The main purpose here is to limit IP addresses and ports accessibility.
- Password protection and tight permissions: Use safe passwords – a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters along with numerals is ideal. You can also use a program like Fail2Ban to monitor for fraudulent login attempts and stop these.
- Intelligent dial plans: This includes the blocking of restricted numbers and call routes. A simple example is ensuring the separation between inbound and outbound traffic.
Used correctly, these three best practices will ensure your solution is well-protected.
Apr
18
2013
We’re excited to let you know that our µWARP VoIP Firewall will be released shortly. This solution has generated a lot of buzz and given that there’s nothing like it on the market, it’s no surprise.
The µWARP VoIP Firewall uses a revolutionary, patent-pending process that identifies and prevents the most common fraudulent activities on VoIP telephone systems before they happen. This dongle-size device offers easy installation and protection within minutes of receiving the device.
Apply to become a distributor and start offering your customers the opportunity to protect their VoIP networks with this plug and play, low-cost device.
Apply today!
Do you want to learn more? Visit our website to download the datasheet and while you’re there, check out our pre-recorded webinar.
Apr
15
2013
Join us for our Emerging Products Roadmap webinar on Wednesday April 17 at 9am or 2pm Eastern to learn about our upcoming new product releases. During this session, you will get a preview of some of the innovative products we currently have in development, including:
This is an exciting time at PIKA Technologies as we continue to build on our reputation for building innovative solutions that are chosen by leading developers, system integrators and businesses worldwide.
Learn more and register…
Apr
12
2013
In March, I attended the International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) show in Las Vegas.
IWCE is focused on Radio Frequency (RF) radio solutions that cater to public safety, transportation, utilities, military and government markets (just to name a few). As you can imagine, there is widespread need for this type of wireless communication and it falls outside of what most of us would typically associate with wireless communications (we all think cell/mobile phones). I witnessed an assortment of police and fire vehicles decked out with all the latest RF equipment so they can do their job effectively and safely. I also saw utility vehicles that increase productivity via the use of sophisticated RF technology and many other unique and fascinating applications.
I noticed VoIP is a relatively new medium in the mix of all this RF technology. I can certainly understand why there has not been a fit until recently given that most of the RF solutions cater predominantly to people on the go. After all, it is pretty hard to drag an Ethernet cable along with you if you are on your way to a remote site. What I am seeing is that with more widespread deployment of 3G and 4G networks, the RF world can begin to leverage VoIP in many scenarios where RF may be overkill or simply not necessary. VoIP over these high speed mobile data networks will be a great complement to the RF world in the years to come.
The second way in which I noticed VoIP creeping into the RF world has to do with control and attendant consoles. These are starting to go IP-centric, allowing for integration with VoIP-based equipment directly while legacy equipment will be addressed via gateways and similar devices. That is actually why I was at the show; PIKA recently introduced the WARP Radio Dispatch ATA. This is a solution that allows dealers of RF radio equipment an easy and affordable way to connect outside PSTN lines to their IP-centric attendant consoles. It’s an emerging market but one that’s quickly gaining momentum.
If you have the opportunity to go to IWCE next year, I highly recommend it. Not only is it a fantastic event, you can’t pass up a reason to visit Las Vegas.
Apr
03
2013
As we introduced our µWARP VoIP Firewall to attendees at two recent trade shows, Mobile World Congress and CeBIT, one question many people asked was, “What are the most common VoIP attacks?”. I want to share with you the answer because not everyone is aware of exactly what kind of hacking can take place.
Many of the more commonplace attacks either intend to steal service by masquerading as an authenticated user or simply compromise the ability to provide quality voice service but below are brief explanations of a few more common security breaches.
Theft of Service
These attacks begin by probing the VoIP call server in an effort to determine the system user account structure and ultimately isolate an active user account. Once isolated, the attacking entity makes repeated attempts to compromise the authorization credentials associated with the account through the use of brute force. When successful the identity of the user is assumed and in most cases calls from an auto-dialing system begin. The calls are generally directed towards international cellular phone numbers costing as much as a few dollars per minute, amounting to thousands of dollars when the next telephone bill arrives.
Denial of Service (Dos)
Attacks such as these are committed in numerous ways and limited only by an assailant’s imagination. This is an attack designed to inflict performance degradation and disrupt the vital services provided by the targeted server. One of the most common ways this is achieved is by flooding a systems VoIP listening port with limitless call or registration requests. All executed in hope of slowing system processing, or to invoke a system software exception. Another method is to spoof call termination and redirection responses using credentials from existing calls. The desired outcome is to hinder active user operation with continual service disruption.
Fuzzing
This technique involves functional protocol manipulation by injecting faults into data processed at the application layer. The purpose of this attack is based on the assumption that software bugs lay waiting to be discovered in all software applications. These programs feed servers with either ‘odd’ data packets not compliant with any formal design specification or packets that push any boundaries outlined in the same specifications. These mainly focus on call signaling (SIP) with intent to push a server’s data processing boundaries and force execution of irregular error paths. These attacks can be particularly frustrating, frequently bringing systems to their knees.
Have you experienced one of the above attacks? Has your system been attacked in a different way? Leave us a comment below and tell us about it.
Mar
28
2013
It’s been a busy time for us here at PIKA. Not only did we attend MWC in Barcelona in February, we were right back at it in Hannover with CeBIT the first week of March. CeBIT differs from MWC in a couple of ways but most significantly in that CeBIT doesn’t have a single focus. There are many different industries represented so the diversity of the show is quite something.
This was our fourth time exhibiting at CeBIT and the statistics released by the event organizers are impressive – 4000 exhibitors from 70 countries and 285 000 attendees. The event was a huge success and statistics like that ensure CeBIT’s status as the leading show for the digital economy.
We brought a number of different technologies with us to the show, including our µWARP VoIP Firewall. You may have read our posts about our field trials on this blog before. The trials are currently underway and are generating lots of excitement. Our µWARP VoIP Firewall is a small, on-premise device that prevents the most common attacks on VoIP networks before they happen. Needless to say, folks at the show could relate and we heard many stories of unexpectedly large bills due to IP hacking. A small, affordable device to protect against this type of activity is being welcomed by all.
Along with our on-premise firewall, we are working on a software version that protects IP endpoints of a hosted PBX as well as a version that allows end users to set up a VPN connection which is then used to transfer data from a remote end-user to a secured company network.
Judging by the reactions at CeBIT, this device has a bright future.
Mar
25
2013
Last month, PIKA exhibited at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona and, as always, it was a lively, well attended event.
What makes this show a must-attend event? It’s a couple of things but it really boils down to the people in attendance (both exhibitors and attendees) being incredibly passionate about mobile technologies. It’s a great cross-section of representatives from all levels within organizations who have a keen interest in the mobile industry.
This facilitates great conversations and business opportunities.
Our exhibit attracted a lot of interest. We were there with our WARP Mobile PBX which allows telecom service providers to offer wireless voice and data to enterprise markets and remote / mobile work sites such as oil rigs, mining operations, construction sites, etc. We are excited that our Mobile PBX created such a buzz at the event and that people recognize the opportunities this will create for them.
MWC was such a great event for us that we’re already planning our 2014 participation.
Did you attend MWC? Leave us a comment and let us know what you thought about the event and if you’re considering returning in 2014.
Mar
06
2013
I have been testing Asterisk on our µWARP hardware, µWARP Development Platform, and thought I would share some of the results with you. I have been testing it by:
- Calling µWARP with SIP extension
- Playing an audio file to SIP extension
- Transferring call to another SIP extension
- Hangup and start again
The Asterisk on the µWARP has 52 registered SIP extensions. We have been doing this with between 16 and 20 simultaneous calls (32 – 40 endpoints) at a call rate of approximately 1439 calls/hour. Even at this rate it is only using around 50% of CPU (see below for details).
- (click to enlarge)
Pretty impressive for a computer the size of my finger.
Mar
05
2013
Join us for our Emerging Products Roadmap webinar on Thursday March 7 at 9am or 2pm Eastern to learn about our upcoming new product releases. During this session, you will get a preview of some of the innovative products we currently have in development, including:
This is an exciting time at PIKA Technologies as we continue to build on our reputation for building innovative solutions that are chosen by leading developers, system integrators and businesses worldwide.
Learn more and register…