For years, businesses have recognized the need to safeguard computer programs and applications against ill-intentioned hackers and viruses.

Now, as VoIP becomes increasingly commonplace, service providers and enterprises are realizing the need to secure their converged applications including VoIP, video and other real-time applications, to protect from attacks such as toll fraud, service disruptions and Spam over Internet Telephony (SPIT).

BorderWare Technologies believes it has discovered a new approach to securing and servicing VoIP. The company’s SIPassure, SIP Security Gateway (News - Alert), is an evolution of the traditional SBC (session border controller), that leverages standard platforms to deliver superior security, flexible deployment options and seamless integration - all at a lower cost of ownership than current proprietary solutions on the market, according to BorderWare.

Traditional SBCs have been deployed in the carrier market for applications such as peering traffic between carrier networks and interoperating between different VoIP protocols. With the increased adoption of VoIP and SIP (session initiation protocol) applications, the requirements for security are increasing and SBCs are unable to meet certain requirements of the enterprise and OEM markets. Key requirements include flexibility, cost-effective scalability and the ability to fit within existing IP infrastructures.

SIPassure is a software-based, non-proprietary solution, combining features of an SBC with the security of a traditional firewall and the application awareness of an Application Layer Gateway (ALG). SIPassure is architected to run on standard operating systems such as Solaris and Linux, enabling enterprises and service providers to deploy using standard off-the-shelf hardware from vendors including Sun and HP instead of the proprietary purpose built platforms used by traditional SBC vendors.

“Our new approach to securing VoIP solves today’s business enablement challenges without re-inventing the wheel,” said Tim Leisman, CEO of BorderWare. “The software-based and flexible nature of SIPassure has driven the OEM market to rapidly adopt and integrate it as part of their platforms, providing further proof that adding security to the mix shouldn't require companies to implement an entirely new architecture and solution.”

Interest in BorderWare’s new approach abounds. Just today, BorderWare and LignUp Corporation, both specializing in IP security and converged communications solutions, announced the integration of BorderWare's SIPassure VoIP Security Gateway into the LignUp Communications Application Server. Powered by BorderWare, LignUp's server provides enterprises and service providers with a single source for cost effectively building and deploying secure VoIP-enabled applications across any network. The integrated product is available today from LignUp. It can be implemented by enterprises and service providers as an on-premise or hosted solution.

Under the agreement, LignUp is embedding BorderWare’s application-layer security into its Session Initiation Protocol (News - Alert) (SIP) based software. The LignUp Communications Applications Server and LignUp Communications Web services provide all the functionality developers need to voice-enable Web applications, portals and processes.

The combination of LignUp software and BorderWare’s SIPassure enables secure deployment by protecting against SPIT (Spam over Internet Telephony), Denial of Service (DoS), unauthorized registration and other types of VoIP attacks that would easily penetrate packet-layer security devices. Because BorderWare is network-agnostic, companies can extend the benefits of secure, VoIP-enabled business processes to remote workers, supply chain partners and other authorized users, regardless of how they connect into an intranet or secure website.

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Cindy Waxer is a Toronto-based freelance journalist specializing in business and technology. She has written for publications including TIME, Fortune Small Business, Business 2.0, Computerworld, Canadian Business, and Workforce Management. To see more of her articles, please visit Cindy Waxer’s columnist page.