A PABX/PBX (Private (Automatic) Branch eXchange) is telephone equipment that is installed on corporate premises to provide a number of
telephone extensions within an office and operate as a connection between the business and the external dial-out network. A PBX allows sharing of
outside lines and thus significantly reduces the number of such lines needed to be leased from a Telco. PBXs have evolved over time in much the
same way that Telcos have evolved, moving from circuit switched to IP-based packet technologies. An on-site PBX provides more
telecommunications service control to the organization. Today, even the most basic PBX systems have a wide range of capabilities that were
previously only available in advanced large-scale switches. Today’s voicemail platforms often have similar capabilities to PBXs, and thus are prone to
similar attacks.
Typically, incidents tend to occur when business premises are unattended, PBX use is not monitored, and/or the PBX is accessible externally. Calls
are placed and routed via the PBX and, in the majority of cases; the business owners are unaware of the event. In the most extreme cases, losses of
thousands of Dollars can be incurred by businesses due to this type of fraud. We should understand that these “attacks” are possible because the
victims are largely unaware of the potential threats and the PBXs in question have not been properly secured.
Download: PBX Hacking.pdf (228.1 KB)
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