A new spam acronym has been coined as the latest potential threat becomes known - it is SPIT or Spam over Internet Telephony. Spammers are seemingly endless in their pursuit to send their trashy unsolited emails, pump out terrible spammy websites, flood blog comments and forums -- the list goes on. In the VoIP world vishing has already become a problem. Now, a new spam acronym has been coined as the latest potential threat becomes known - it is SPIT or Spam over Internet Telephony.

SPIT is being touted as problem waiting in the wings where spammers could clog up your voicemail, affect your network speeds and chew your bandwidth -- and cause you a headache in the process. SPIT would also have a heavier footprint than just junk-email as you lose bandwidth or get penalized for over-usage (depending on your internet plan). Just imagine businesses with listed public telephone numbers using VoIP!

Although SPIT hasn't yet caused any major widespread problem yet -- the threat is real and viable. Companies like VoIPShield Systems Inc are amongst those in the security who identifying the threats ahead of time and working on solutions.

An effective approach to combating SPIT will likely build on existing data-centric anti-spam technologies and focus on adapting them for the VoIP market. Solutions will need to be designed that address key VoIP issues including the need for real-time analysis of incoming traffic as very little delay can be introduced for users to be able to carry out a phone conversation.

Companies like VoIPshield who lead the way in providing security products designed specifically for VoIP networks need to work hard now to protect VoIP networks and ensure regulatory compliance against the likes of SPIT before VoIP takeup becomes widespread.

By David Boyd