MERLIN LEGEND Communications System Release 5.0
Feature Reference
555-650-110
Issue 1
June 1997
Customer Support Information
Page A-15
Other Security Hints
A
Following are a number of measures and guidelines that can help you ensure the
security of your communications system and voice messaging system.
Multiple layers of security are always recommended to keep your system secure.
Educating Users
1
Everyone in your company who uses the telephone system is responsible for
system security. Users and attendants/operators need to be aware of how to
recognize and react to potential hacker activity. Informed people are more likely to
cooperate with security measures that often make the system less flexible and
more difficult to use.
■
Never program passwords or authorization codes onto Auto Dial buttons.
Display telephones reveal the programmed numbers and internal abusers
can use the Auto Dial buttons to originate unauthorized calls.
■
Discourage the practice of writing down barrier codes or passwords. If a
barrier code or password needs to be written down, keep it in a secure
place and never discard it while it is active.
■
Operators or attendants should tell their system manager if they answer a
series of calls where there is silence on the other end or the caller hangs
up.
■
Users who are assigned voice mailboxes should frequently change
personal passwords and should not choose obvious passwords.
■
The system manager should advise users with special telephone privileges
(such as Remote Access, Outcalling, and Remote Call Forwarding) of the
potential risks and responsibilities.
■
Be suspicious of any caller who claims to be with the telephone company
and wants to check an outside line. Ask for a callback number, hang up
and confirm the caller’s identity.
■
Never distribute the office telephone directory to anyone outside the
company; be careful when discarding it (shred the directory).
■
Never accept collect telephone calls.
■
Never discuss your telephone system’s numbering plan with anyone
outside the company.
Educating Operators
1
Operators or attendants need to be especially aware of how to recognize and
react to potential hacker activity. To defend against toll fraud, operators should
follow the guidelines below:
■
Establish procedures to counter
social engineering
. Social engineering is a
con game that hackers frequently use to obtain information that may help
them gain access to your communications system or voice messaging
system.