Awareness in the area of phone hacking remains minimal despite the scale of the problem.

Losses due to global telecom fraud amount to an estimated $72-80 billion annually, according to figures from the Communications Fraud Control Association (CFCA) Telecom Fraud Survey 2009. Subscription/ID theft accounted for around $22 billion, compromised PBX voicemail systems for $15 billion and premium rate service fraud $4.5 billion. The more money criminals make, the more they can invest in increasing their activities. To exacerbate the problem, 90 per cent of resellers still don’t fully appreciate the security risks of IP telephony. Unlike Mason Infotech who take security very seriously, many resellers aren’t informing clients of the risks or advising them to run checks.

If someone hacks into a voice network, they are potentially able to listen to calls and get information such as bank details and other confidential company data.The extent of this problem is not fully quantified because it’s in nobody’s interest to admit that they’re vulnerable. The perpetrators don’t want to be found out, and the victims are either unaware of the source of the information leakage, or if they become aware of it, they simply don’t want their problems and security failings to be publicised. Proving the extent of the problem, therefore, is difficult, but there is enough information to show that phone hacking is not just a potential risk, but a real one.

Premium Rate Call fraud is probably one of the best comparisons. Most people conceal any problems they have with it. There’s little discussion about the nature and size of toll fraud in the UK, despite the fact that many people are aware of how much toll fraud has affected them. There is information, but nobody wants it given out because nobody wants to be responsible for it.

Phone hacking is also an easy route into data hacking and is becoming more common for a number of reasons. Tools are freely available to carry out these crimes, and a lack of prosecutions encourages criminals to perpetuate the crime. The hacking can be carried out from outside the domain and there are large sums of money involved. In many cases, it’s easier to carry out these acts in the environment of voice rather than data.

Smartphone security is also an area of increasing concern. Research by getsafeonline.org shows that approximately one in five owners of smartphone devices can expect to lose or have them stolen at some point. Smartphones contain a huge amount of sensitive personal and work-related data. They can connect to company networks, potentially allowing access if phones are lost or stolen. But, no need for concern as there are security solutions available that will help manage and protect smartphones, as well as minimise the problems if they are lost.

Mason Infotech are experts in the fields of both voice and data security and are able to add security solutions to clients’ IT and telecoms solutions. Customers expect a duty of care from their telecoms provider and Mason Infotech will ensure that, wherever possible, clients are not left exposed to fraud.

Call us today for FREE advice on the best solution for you.

So what does the latest release from Avaya, the IP Office 8.0, have to offer?

The biggest change with Release 8, from previous systems, surrounds the mobility apps and the overall direction Avaya is taking the IP Office product suite. The next few years will see the rapid decline of the desk set, as users migrate to alternative mediums for their communications. While that migration will include increased communication via PC, to a much larger extent it will mean the emerging dominance of mobile devices.The mobile phone is set to become the ubiquitous mode of communication.

It is estimated that by the end of 2012 over 50 percent of communication in the corporate world will be done through a device other than the desk set, the most dominant medium being the mobile phone.

The changes in IP Office Release 8 are geared specifically towards this change, emphasising enhanced mobility, office convergence and more importantly, providing full office functionality on your mobile phone.

Click here to find out more about this exciting new product.

WARNING TO EAST MIDLANDS BUSINESSES AS BT ISSUE SERVICE WARNING DUE TO WEATHER CONDITIONS

Voice and data solutions provider Mason Infotech are warning all businesses to ensure their IT and telecoms recovery plans are up to date.

The warning comes as a result of a service warning from BT Wholesale who have advised their suppliers that an MBORC (matters beyond our reasonable control) notice has been issued due to the inclement weather conditions in parts of the United Kingdom at the moment.

High winds, heavy rainfall and resulting flooding have impacted a substantial part of the Openreach network. BT say that as a result of the weather conditions, both provisioning appointments and in life fault appointments are being delayed due to work being undertaken to restore services in these areas affected. However, areas not specified above may also experience delays as additional resources are being drafted into the worst affected areas.

Commenting Managing Director Steve Mason said, “Whilst the worst affected areas are in Scotland, Wales, Yorkshire and the South West my advice is for businesses to check that their own disaster recovery plan and those of important suppliers, particularly if they are based in these areas, are up to date and will allow continuity of trading if these conditions do affect them.”

Mason Infotech are delighted to announce that we are now able to offer the TalkTalk Business range of internet access services.

These include the traditional adsl type services, but more importantly provide Mason Infotech with the advanced Ethernet First Mile (EFM) services that offer considerably higher bandwidth than traditional broadband services.

Access to the internet is becoming increasingly important, both in terms of available bandwidth (speed) and the services reliability. EFM services offer a significant improvement in both of these areas and are considerably more cost effective than other high bandwidth direct internet access services, such as leased lines or fibre based services.

For further information, or to check on availability in your area please call Mark Powell or Stephen Mason on 0333 240 0484 or click here to submit your enquiry.

‘Tis the season of goodwill. Millions of Christmas cards and parcels are currently being delivered, on a daily basis, in the run up to the big day. In all the excitement please do not fall foul of this postal scam.

A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 ( a Premium Rate Number).

DO NOT CALL THIS NUMBER.

This is a mail scam originating from Belize. If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will already have been billed £315 for the phone call!!!

If you do receive a card with these details on, you should contact Royal Mail Fraud on 0207 239 6655.

We found this story in the DNCC  members’ briefing magazine and wanted to share it with you…

Two thirds of UK premises will have access to fibre broadband by the end of 2014, one year ahead of schedule, according to an announcement by BT. An additional 520 engineers will be recruited to assist with this deployment, which supports the Government’s ambition to have the best super fast broadband network in Europe by 2015.

If you would like more information about Broadband from Mason Infotech  Click Here

It’s just over a month now since we have launched our new on line support portal, and it’s proving to be a very functional tool. Over 75% of our clients have now adopted the service and are using it to place requests and support cases.

The page layout and simple diagnostic questions help us to respond very quickly. We will be enhancing this with the launch of the library of suggested solutions coming into service later this month. This again is aimed at reducing the amount of time it takes our clients to find resolutions to support requests and queries.

In the next few weeks we will also be providing our clients with details on how to access our new estate management and order management service. When combined with  the support service this means our clients have a complete on line view to acquire, implement and manage services from Mason Infotech.

For some of our clients, we are looking to brand the portal so that it can be used to serve their clients, enabling Mason Infotech to be a cost effective addition to their IT help desk and administration functions. The service can be customised, both in product content and appearance, allowing us to customise the service and functionality.

We will of course always be here to take your call if there are issues you would rather discuss on the phone.  For more information and to obtain your login please visit www.masoninfotech.co.uk/ssp