How to Get SHAKEN/STIR Robocalls Protection in the Washington D.C. Area

Robocalls driving you bonkers? What if I told you we could eliminate those annoying and costly time-wasters?

While their frequency increases, they're also adapting to our behavior. They use local numbers, so rather than us ignoring the call, we feel the need to answer because it's more familiar than an 800 number. And while you may not answer unknown callers on your personal cell, your business doesn't have that leisure.

In fact, some of these robocalls can commit toll fraud, costing your business thousands of dollars without almost no effort.

Fortunately, robocall protection is coming thanks to the SHAKEN/STIR protocol. It will be able to save your business from wasted time and money. And it won't take much to put it to use.

SHAKEN/STIR Robocalls Protection for the Washington, D.C. Area

For those tired of answering fraudulent calls, SHAKEN/STIR robocall protection will be a source of relief to business and government agencies. It saves time and money by enabling you to identify annoying automated calls.

If you've ever suffered from this telephonic plague, which is the equivalent of spam in email, you've probably wished for a solution like this. And for those looking for a telecommunications provider in Washington, D.C. who can protect you from robocalls, we can help.

What Is SHAKEN/STIR?

SHAKEN/STIR stands for Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs (SHAKEN) and the Secure Telephone Identity Revisited. (STIR). It serves as a caller ID authentication framework that limits robocalls and caller ID spoofing through digital certificates based on common public-key cryptography techniques.

Put simply, every telephone service provider obtains a digital certificate from an authority which is trusted by other providers. That technology allows the party receiving a call to verify that calling number is accurate and not spoofed. Since most robocalls use "neighborhood spoofing," a technique that fabricates a similar phone number to the recipient's geographic region, this technology is becoming necessary.

Here's a deeper explanation of how SHAKEN/STIR works.

Image from TransNexus

1. The originating telephone service provider (TSP) receives a SIP Invite.
2. The originating TSP then checks the call source and number to validate the number.
3. The originating TSP uses an authentication service to create a SIP identity header. This can be a third-party service hosted in the cloud, a software application, or a TSP's softswitch.
4. The SIP invite, along with the SIP identity header is sent to the terminating TSP.
5. The SIP invite passes through a verification service.
6. The verification service then compares the digital certificate from the originating TSP against the public certificate repository. If the certificate is verified, the call is not spoofed.
7. The verification service then returns the results to the terminating TSP.
8. The call is completed.

SHAKEN/STIR catches the calls before they can connect, saving your company time and the hassle of dealing with robocalls. And since many telephone providers are working on versions of this technology, the service will continue to be refined, identifying more of these callers.

SHAKEN/STIR Protection

In 2016, Atlantech partnered with TransNexus to use SIP Analytics to protect customers from robocalls. By leveraging Atlantech's fiber and Broadsoft infrastructure, customers can receive the exceptional service they expect.

TransNexus is a telecom software solution for VoIP providers. Their service is specially designed to safeguard against telephone denial of service (TDoS) attacks like robocalls. Because their service has been so well designed, within milliseconds, the software can determine whether to deny, route, or redirect a call according to risk.

Because Atlantech and TransNexus are partnered, all of our customers will be able to receive SHAKEN/STIR protection along with their business phone service. This is a valuable addition to our highly redundant, secure network. And along with our 24/7 customer support, you can rest assured that you'll get the best service available, as well as complete protection from TDoS attacks.

Defending Your Company from Fraudulent Callers

As a business, your best bet for avoiding robocalls and TDoS attacks is by working with a provider who offers services like TransNexus. Using the information provided above, you can ask your provider how they handle SHAKEN/STIR robocalls protection and determine whether it meets process standards.

To better protect yourself from robocalls and other threats to your business phone service, let's get in touch. We provide telecommunications solutions to the Washington, D.C. metro area and help businesses of all sizes with their telephone requirements.