Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Security Workshop: Harmonizing Technology and Policy
On June 1 & 2, CSIA co-hosted a workshop focusing on the technical, legal and policy challenges of voice over internet protocol (VoIP). University of North Texas, George Mason University and The University of Tulsa were the other co-hosts. Approximately 150 participants spent the first day focused on technical and policy challenges, then spent the second day developing a long-term security and reliability research and development agenda for VoIP.
Law and Policy Workshop Panels included:
- Public Policy Perspectives
Jeffery Goldthorp and Christi Shewman, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Phil Reitinger, NSTAC NGN Task Force Chair spoke on the current regulatory environment for VoIP and on government obligations such as e-911 and next generation networks. - Government Operational Needs
Dr. Peter M. Fonash, Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/National Communication System (NCS) and Thos. Gregg Motta, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) discussed national security, emergency preparedness and law enforcement issues such as CALEA. - Industry Perspective
Cristin Flynn Goodwin, BellSouth; Micki Chen, General Counsel, Verizon; and Jim Kohlenberger, Voice on the Net (VON) Coalition presented the audience with insights from the private sector on the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS), packet prioritization and e-911.
Over 110 people from North America, Europe and Asia representing private industry, academic research and the public sector attended the workshop held at the Hotel Monaco in Washington D.C. Good Harbor Consulting sponsored an outdoor reception on the evening of June 1st.
The workshop convened technical representatives from the telecommunication and internet communities as well as public policy representatives from the Department of Defense, Department of State, National Institute of Standards (NIST), FCC, FAA and NSA to discuss and debate the following issues:
- e-911 and emergency service provision
- CALEA and national security implications
- Adapting telecommunication reliability concepts like quality of service for future communication systems
- Developing new ways to meet public policy obligations while securing current and future IP-based communication networks
A working group was formed at the event to coordinate research and development projects focused on securing VoIP networks.
CSIA would like to thank the following companies and organizations for generously supporting the VoIP workshop: BearingPoint, International Packet Communications Consortium, Juniper Networks, Kayote Networks, Lucent Technologies, NexTone, Qovia, tekVision, and VoIPshield Systems.