| In theory at least, the Wild West days of the Internet | | | | examine our current circumstances, a lot of the |
| are over. Based upon the inventions articulated in his | | | | excitement generating the rush to VoIP is based upon |
| five-patent suite, inventor, Harry Emerson III, has | | | | an illusion, the appearance that we are being offered |
| mapped out a union between our secure and | | | | new and sophisticated technologies. In fact, existing |
| venerable telephone system - AKA POTS (Plain Old | | | | VoIP offerings are simply discounted POTS services, |
| Telephone Service) - and the hyper-evolving, | | | | he says, with no value-added features, only lower cost |
| media-rich Internet which is so famously not one bit | | | | caused by fierce price pressure from cable TV and |
| secure. As it evolves, he believes this next generation | | | | other low-overhead vendors. The result is the |
| telecommunications system, dubbed IronPipe(TM), will | | | | continued downward spiral on price that has plagued |
| have huge implications for national security as well as | | | | the telecommunications industry for 30 years. |
| tremendous new revenue opportunities for the carriers | | | | IronPipe(TM) is a re-thinking of 21st century |
| and supply chains which serve them. Conceived in | | | | telecommunications architecture, which will return a |
| response to what he views as the seriously flawed | | | | sense of safety to our society as a whole, |
| paradigm which is currently developing as | | | | reinvigorating our economy from the inside out. If his |
| telecommunications migrate to the Internet, Mr. | | | | vision is implemented, Mr. Emerson says we won't |
| Emerson says he designed IronPipe(TM) to offer an | | | | have to put up with either the fear of intrusion, or the |
| alternative with a high degree of security. The Internet | | | | huge financial burden of protecting ourselves from the |
| has produced something akin to a gold rush | | | | ever-increasing army of those with malicious intent. |
| experience for those mining its resources and | | | | According to him, we now have a choice. |
| developing its vast potentialities, he said. But, in the | | | | The challenge is that VoIP companies such as Skype, |
| midst of this frenzy, he has observed that fundamental | | | | Vonage and the various Cable carriers which have |
| requirements of privacy, secrecy, and security are | | | | migrated to the Internet did so not only to provide |
| seldom openly discussed when it comes to | | | | cheaper communications, but to avoid regulatory |
| Internet-based phone services known as "Voice over | | | | scrutiny. "If you don't have to deal with the regulations it |
| Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems such as SKYPE, | | | | tends to make things cheaper," he said. "But these |
| which are rapidly being developed. | | | | profits come at a price." "The integrity of the |
| These are serious issues, he maintains, and they need | | | | communications system has been compromised |
| to be fully considered by users such as corporations, | | | | because of short term thinking primarily geared |
| telecommunications carriers, VoIP carriers, law | | | | towards reducing costs." In its simplest terms, IronPipe |
| enforcement agencies, and federal and state | | | | will enable us to make web 2.0 Internet-style media |
| governments, as well as by the millions of Internet | | | | rich calls utilizing the existing private, protected, secure, |
| using individuals who are concerned with their own | | | | Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and its |
| personal privacy. According to Mr. Emerson our | | | | unseen private data network - known as SS7, which |
| current state of vulnerability came about because we | | | | connects all the main switches around the world. While |
| have turned a blind eye to these issues of privacy, | | | | VoIP uses the Internet exclusively and thus can be, |
| secrecy and security, combined with the scramble for | | | | and regularly is, compromised, if we establish Internet |
| profit, and an unregulated environment for VoIP. "The | | | | calls through these telephone company switches there |
| Internet is a lawless frontier where nothing is safe and | | | | will be no access from the outside. We can create rich |
| secure and reliability is always one step away from | | | | media visual telephone calls on broadband Internet |
| calamity," he says. "As things stand today, VoIP does | | | | connections, using wireline or wireless touch-screen |
| little to protect the interests of the aforementioned | | | | phones such as the iPhone, simply by dialing a phone |
| entities, not to mention protecting the security of the | | | | number, and still enjoy the privacy, security and |
| United States. We are suffering untold numbers of | | | | reliability of traditional telephone calls. In short, Mr. |
| hacker attacks DAILY, with systems broken into and | | | | Emerson says that his technology seamlessly merges |
| identities stolen. Not too long ago the entire worldwide | | | | the best of the Internet with the best of the telephone |
| DNS system (Domain Name System) was brought to | | | | network. Considering the cost to government, industry |
| its knees by hackers," he said. In his opinion, if the | | | | and society at large to protect against intrusion and to |
| technology continues to develop in its current direction, | | | | remediate the damage caused by intrusion, IronPipe |
| no one will be able to guarantee that communications | | | | could be well worth looking into. |
| cannot be intercepted and monitored. In addition, if we | | | | |