Verizon Global Wholesale just beefed up its call setup security. The company has enabled its product offerings–SIP Gateway Service, Advanced Toll Free IP Termination and Carrier IP Termination Transport–to share a single, secure virtual private network connection called an IP Security (IPSec) tunnel.

An industry standard supported by most equipment vendors, IPSec encrypts all data prior to transmission and then authenticates the data upon receipt to make sure it hasn’t been altered. In addition, the data source is authenticated to prevent “spoofing” of an IP address which hackers use to pass themselves off as legitimate users to take advantage of a VoIP and data network.

The revved up security will hopefully nix any concerns companies might have about switching from legacy TDM to new IP-based communications offerings. Offering secure calls is sure to help convince hesitant companies that the benefits of IP are truly starting to outweigh the negatives. According to Verizon, they are the only major provider offering this connection.