NEC Corporation has announced the development of a new technology for the prevention of SPam over Internet Telephony (SPIT), called VoIP SEAL, a trade mark protected product.

The new technology, which defends against the threat of rapidly increasing spam IP phone calls, is expected to contribute significantly to the realization of safe voice over internet protocol (VoIP) phone networks in the future. The product will be unveiled by NEC at the 3GSM world congress 2007, in Barcelona, Spain from 12 to 15 February.

The main features of VoIP SEAL are:

Calls arising from spam-generating-software and calls from real individuals are separated by a Turing test. Before connecting the call, VoIP SEAL detects and blocks the unauthorised access, based on the communication pattern observed during a call. This enables the detection and blocking of SPIT.

By adopting a module structure, the product enables a rapid response to new kinds of SPIT attacks, without adjusting the system, by adding and updating modules to respond to new and different kinds of SPIT. The adoption of a module structure also realises response to a broad range of applications by enabling flexible and easy customisation of systems to meet the needs of a variety of hardware, such as SIP servers, SBC (note 2), home network equipment and terminal equipment.

According to NEC, which carried out a SPIT attack simulation project employing VoIP SEAL to verify the technology''s ability to protect against SPIT, succeeded in detecting, blocking, preventing users from receiving unwanted and bothersome calls.

In recent years, the spread of low-cost IP phones has advanced significantly in comparison to fixed-line phones as a new method of communication in the next-generation network environment.

However, although IP phones offer cost advantages, they also act as an easy platform for generating spam calls. The cost of generating a spam call over the internet is cheaper than in a traditional network by a factor of 1000. As a result, the existing infrastructure for producing spam e-mails (so called "botnets") can easily be modified to also produce spam telephone calls.

Today, the number of spam emails is higher than the number of regular emails produced jointly by all of the users in the internet. If unsolicited marketing and spam calls become as frequent as spam email, constantly-ringing VoIP phones may hinder the spread of their use.

NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY) is one of the world''s leading providers of Internet, broadband network and enterprise business solutions.