Security of VoIP traffic over low or limited bandwidth networks

Abstract

The early days of voice over IP (VoIP) adoption were characterized by a lack of concern and awareness about security issues related to its use. Indeed, service providers and users were mostly preoccupied with issues related to its quality, functionality, and cost. Now that VoIP is a mainstream communication technology, security has become a major issue. This paper investigates the major security threats for VoIP communications and proposes a multipath approach solution, especially targeted for low bandwidth networks. Results show that security has an effect on VoIP quality especially for a large distance between communicating nodes and packet size. Results also show that our proposed multipath solution reduces significantly packet losses and performs better than single routing techniques in networks with low bandwidth capacities.