PGP creator cooks up Net phone protection
Phil Zimmermann hopes that his secure Net phone-calling efforts will be as successful as his Pretty Good Privacy e-mail encryption program.
Zimmermann has developed a prototype of an Internet telephony application that encrypts calls to prevent eavesdropping. He plans to unveil the prototype on Thursday at the Black Hat Briefings security industry conference in Las Vegas.
"I am revealing this now because I want to help shape the direction of secure VoIP," Zimmermann said in an interview. VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, the technology used to enable people to make phone calls using an Internet connection.
VoIP is increasingly popular because it is cheaper than traditional phone service or, in some cases, free. Organizations can run their own VoIP service using products from vendors such as Cisco Systems. For consumers, companies including Packet8 and Vonage offer an actual phone that plugs into a broadband connection, while others such as Skype sell software that runs on a PC. Most popular instant messaging applications also have VoIP capabilities.
Security of VoIP systems is getting more attention in general. Cisco Systems identified several vulnerabilities in its products earlier this month. The flaws could lead to denial-of-service attacks on Cisco IP telephony networks, which are used by businesses.
