Spam, unsolicited robocalls from marketers, and fraudulent tactics have been eroding trust amongst consumers — to the extent that most people nowadays simply won’t answer when their phone rings with an unknown number on the caller ID. The situation has become so acute that it has led to the universal imposition of a technology standard and communications security framework known as STIR/SHAKEN.
Under the authority of kuwait telegram the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the STIR/SHAKEN framework has been adopted to impose call authentication technology on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls and business communications in North America. For its legal basis and with effect from June 30th, 2021, the TRACED Act requires voice service providers to implement the STIR/SHAKEN authentication framework on all IP networks. All telecommunications industry stakeholders in the IP space have been obliged to block unsigned calls as from September 2021.
In essence, the STIR/SHAKEN legislation is intended as protection for consumers, by making it significantly more difficult for bad actors to employ call spoofing (making it appear that a call originating from one source actually comes from another) as a tactic to commit fraud.
More broadly, the FCC STIR/SHAKEN mandate creates the USA standards that enable Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS), Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), and Call/Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) providers and end-users to verify that a call is really from the number shown on the Caller ID.
STIR SHAKEN
[Image source: GetVoIP]
STIR/SHAKEN derives its name from the combination of two acronyms.
STIR is an acronym for the Secure Telephone Identity Revisited (STIR), while SHAKEN is an acronym for Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information using ToKENs (SHAKEN).
STIR creates a digital signature for each call, which identifies the calling party and allows the carrier to verify the call. SHAKEN is the framework under which authorized telecommunications service providers must digitally “sign” their customers’ calls. Any carrier that fails to identify who their customer is faces the prospect of losing their ability to sign future calls.
How STIR/SHAKEN Works
There is a lot of confusion surrounding the latest STIR/SHAKEN requirements. This new regulation is creating havoc for companies across all industries.