The VoIP PBX Honeypot Advance Persistent Threat Analysis

PBX hacking is a multi-billion dollar per year criminal and terrorism funding source. This paper follows on from a previous 10-day Honeypot experiment, to run a VoIP PBX Honeypot for a longer period of 103-day to not only validate any similarities, but to also analyse non-VoIP methods hackers use in an attempt to gain access to a VoIP System. Over the 103-day data collection period, the Honeypot recorded over 100 million SIP messages. Different techniques were used (including SQL injections in Invites) and hackers of the same IP subnet also attempted using web vulnerabilities in different telephony phone systems to gain access. Of specific interest, over the Christmas period of 2018, attack intensity decreased significantly. To validate these findings, the Honeypot experiment was also conducted for a short period over the Christmas period of 2019 which found that unlike Christmas 2018, attacks increased. The sophistication, scale and complexity of the fraud would suggest an Advance Persistent Threat exists with an aim to infiltrate a VoIP system (including a PBX) to conduct Toll Fraud and where possible to also add that system to a botnet of infected voice systems.