snom and Ingate Secure VoIP Traffic

Complete the World’s First Successful VoIP Call Using SRTP to Encrypt Media; Demonstrate Inteoperability

Ingate® Systems (www.ingate.com), which develops firewall technology and products that enable SIP-based live communication for the enterprise while maintaining control and security at the network edge, and snom, an open systems provider of high quality VoIP business telephones, today announced the world’s first successful completion of an encrypted VoIP call using the approved standard protocol SRTP (Secure Realtime Transfer Protocol).

Ideal for voice traffic, SRTP provides a very high level of security for realtime data with advanced encryption, confidentiality, message authentication, and replay protection. Used with voice data, SRTP provides one of the most secure environments for Internet telephony and VoIP applications available.
To date, only snom and Ingate offer compatible SRTP implementations.  The successful completion of interop testing between the two companies
offers customers a secure solution for voice traffic: the combination of a snom phone with an Ingate Firewall® ensures a secure, reliable VoIP environment.

snom and Ingate have both incorporated SRTP support to their VoIP products.  SRTP was first developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in 2004 as RFC 3711.  The SRTP key exchange mechanism used by both vendors is based on the SDP Security Descriptions draft for media streams (sdescriptions).  Both companies base their products on the SIP standard, also developed by the IETF.  By working to strict IETF specifications, snom and Ingate remain committed to open standards and true interoperability.

"Achieving SRTP interoperability between snom and Ingate Systems marks an important watershed in the evolution of VoIP security," said Michael Knieling, VP Marketing for snom technology, AG. "Single-vendor, proprietary security schemes, developed under wraps, may or may not provide genuine protection. By contrast, standard security strategies receive wide-ranging scrutiny by the developer community, and the process of interoperability testing forces mutual technology disclosure. The result is more robust, provably-secure solutions, and a wider field of options for end users."

“With the conclusion of this successful interoperability test, both snom and Ingate set a benchmark for other vendors to implement similar features and push security in VoIP environments to the next level,” said Olle Westerberg, Chief Executive Officer, Ingate Systems.

A Secure VoIP Environment

Using snom phones with Ingate Firewalls provides users with a secure, reliable VoIP environment.  Both products support Transport Layer Security (TLS) for secure SIP signaling and SRTP for encrypting audio streams. When combined, these protocols shield users from eavesdroppers, hackers and spoofers. In addition, SRTP uses 128-bit AES for encrypting the RTP payload.

SRTP is ideal for protecting Voice over IP audio traffic because it can be used in conjunction with header compression and has no effect on IP Quality of Service.  It creates a unique key stream for each RTP packet, and transmits encrypted audio packets over data networks, making it almost impossible for eavesdroppers to retrieve the original media stream from the encrypted stream.

For more information, visit Ingate Systems at booth #1338 and Snom at booth #1534 at Spring VON 2006 in San Jose.

About Ingate® Systems

Ingate® Systems develops firewall technology and products that enable SIP-based live communication for the enterprise while maintaining control and security at the network edge.  Ingate has a long history of developing next-generation firewall technology that solves the NAT/firewall traversal issue inherent in SIP communications.  In addition to an extensive line of Ingate Firewalls®, the company also produces the award-winning Ingate SIParator®, a device that connects to an existing network firewall to seamlessly enable SIP communications.  Ingate products currently protect the networks of retail companies, financial institutions, industrial firms, government agencies and small-to-large enterprises throughout Europe, Asia and North America.  Ingate Systems AB is headquartered in Sweden with offices in Stockholm and Linköping.  Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ingate Systems Inc., is located in Hollis, New Hampshire, with a U.S. technology center in Frisco, Texas.  For more information on Ingate Systems, visit www.ingate.com.

About snom

snom technology AG develops and manufactures VoIP telephones and related equipment based on the IETF open standard, SIP (Session Initiation Protocol). Recognized for its high-quality, customizable, and costeffective business solutions, snom is also differentiated by the company’s history in the VoIP industry, and its dedication to high security standards. All of snom’s software exists in the firmware on the phones – making it easier for users to download updates and new features. snom customers benefit from the interoperability and flexibility that the snom telephones offer, including plug and play integration and universal compatibility with any SIP-based telephony platform. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany, snom technology AG also has offices in Italy, France and the US. The company distributes its fourth generation SIP phones through its network of more than 200 authorized reseller partners in 60 countries worldwide. For more information on snom, please visit www.snom.com.

Press contacts

snom technology AG
Maria Schnake
Gradestr. 46
D-12347 Berlin
Tel: +49 30 39833-103
Fax: +49 30 39833-111
press@snom.com
www.snom.com

Ingate Systems
Olle Westerberg
Tel: + 46 8 600 77 54
SIP and email: olle.westerberg@ingate.com

Ingate Systems
Hillary Call
Public Relations Manager
Tel: (917) 414-9262
SIP and email:
hillary@ingate.com