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The STIR/SHAKEN Deadline Has Past – So, Now What?

 

The most notable FCC deadline (June 30, 2021) was when Communications Service Providers (CSPs) were asked to implement STIR/SHAKEN). As in any initiative, it’s a good idea to take inventory of what’s working and what’s not.

 

Some industry naysayers are wondering if, after all the effort invested, STIR/SHAKEN is really helping to reduce robocalls. That answer is, “Yes, but we’re not done yet.” While STIR/SHAKEN demonstrated its ability to prevent call spoofing and fraud, it’s not effective in certain key use cases that make it difficult for service providers to differentiate between legitimate calls and spoofed calls, so those calls can inadvertently get through.

The policy makers and standards bodies have been busy creating new mandates for areas that have been identified as the source of those robocalls that do slip through, and created new technical standards to stop them. In addition, the FCC and State’s Attorney Generals have used STIR/SHAKEN to identify and prosecute bad actors through stepped up enforcement against robocallers and the carriers that abet them.

Neustar Fellow and VP, Jon Peterson, talked about STIR/SHAKEN at ITW 2022, and how it’s really at an inflection point right now. Deployed in the US and Canada, and with interest internationally, it is making a dent in robocalls. To close the gap, however, Jon believes we must address one of the root causes - the lack of security in signaling and how there’s currently no reliable way to be certain that that signaling came from the party you believe is making the call and what can be done about it. We put together a series of videos of Jon speaking at ITW, scroll down to view them all.

Insights

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Interoperability, Standards, and Testing: Three Keys to Global Call Authentication Implementation

Anthony Cresti, Senior Business Development Director

Implementation of global all authentication standards to combat robocalls requires collaboration between regulators, standards bodies, network operators and equipment manufacturers.

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STIR/SHAKEN Is a Trust Signal, Not a Panacea

By Lance Hood, Senior Product Management Director, Risk

In addition to spoofed robocall scammers, STIR/SHAKEN also addresses fraudsters who use call spoofing to attack call centers. However, call centers must still contend with additional types of fraud that hinge on the identity of the caller and decide how much rigor to apply when authenticating callers.

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STIR/SHAKEN Best Practice: How to Evaluate STIR/SHAKEN Attestations

By Lance Hood, Senior Product Management Director, Risk

Attestations serve as an important input to existing call analytics tools and incremental benefits, but they do not equate to a risk assessment of the person involved in the call. Inbound contact centers require more signals and analysis to determine caller treatment.

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STIR/SHAKEN: The Role of Attestation in Authentication

By Lance Hood, Senior Product Management Director, Risk

STIR/SHAKEN provides inbound contact centers with an additional data element to establish trust in callers: the phone number’s attestation level. Attestations provide a helpful signal for identifying good callers and determining treatment logic, but they do not substitute for an inbound caller authentication solution.

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STIR/SHAKEN and Inbound Authentication: Better Together

By Lance Hood, Senior Product Management Director, Risk

As STIR/SHAKEN improves detection of spoofed calls, fraudsters attacking inbound call centers will likely adopt other phone fraud tactics that do not rely on call spoofing. Learn how STIR/SHAKEN complements inbound caller authentication solutions that must assess all phone fraud threat vectors.

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STIR/SHAKEN International Story Still Being Written

By Jonjie Sena, Vice President, Product Marketing

Get a recap of the SIP Forum STIR/SHAKEN Virtual Summit session to learn what our Jon Peterson, and other experts, think about international call authentication, and the risk of billions of international calls receiving unfavorable treatment until action is taken.

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Branded Calling Customers See Benefits Beyond Answer Rates

By Jonjie Sena, Vice President, Product Marketing

At the SIP Forum STIR/SHAKEN Virtual Summit, our Jonjie Sena and MaryBeth DeGeorgis chatted with Shaan Katyal, First Orion, and representatives from BCD customers, Medtronic and VA DOH about branded calling. In addition to increased answer rates, branded calling helps extend call duration, improve conversions and retention – and even improve NPS scores.

Read More Insights

 

Videos

 

Opportunity to close gap in signaling security

 

Where did your call really originate?

 

How international regulators band together to address fraud

 

Fraud prevention best practices hinge on data

 

Ways to dis-incent fraudsters globally

 

Controlling how cross-border calls are treated

Solutions

 

Enterprises

Our solutions help you optimize outbound call operations, increase contact rates, improve the customer experience, and protect your brand reputation.

Branded Call Display
Give customers a reason to answer by adding full name, business location, logos, e-business cards, social media links, and more, to the mobile display. We’ll add the STIR/SHAKEN component that verifies that the number, and the data, have not been spoofed.

Caller Name Optimization
Manage your Caller ID for outbound calls through a centralized online portal to protect verified phone numbers from call blocking and spam tagging and stop spoofers from being able to use your caller identity.

Certified Caller
Integrate STIR/SHAKEN technology in your enterprise calling network to digitally authenticate your outbound calls and ensure they are trusted by voice serviced providers and consumers.

Inbound Authentication
Stop fraudsters before they reach your IVR or an agent. Complete a trust assessment before callers hear "hello" to reduce fraud, improve customer experience, and increase operational efficiency.

Vetting Services
Verify, monitor, and update your caller identity across the entire calling ecosystem so you’ll always be recognized as a legitimate call originator for the numbers from which you call.

 

Communications Service Providers (CSPs)

Explore our solutions that help you meet regulatory requirements, implement STIR/SHAKEN call authentication, empower enterprises, and protect consumers.

Caller Name Services
Get quick access to the most reliable and extensive database across the call ecosystem for caller name and numbers (CNAM) queries.

Certificate Manager
Get standards-compliant digital certificates from a nationally approved Certification Authority (STI-CA) to sign calls through STIR/SHAKEN protocols.

Certified Caller
Quickly and easily deploy all components of STIR/SHAKEN to be fully compliant and up to date with the latest developments in call authentication.

NumeriTrack
Get a clear and accurate view of your entire TN inventory and a way to maintain accuracy to empower a foundation of truth for each telephone number accessed through STIR/SHAKEN.

Policy Manager
Manage call policies, rules, and preferences at the network, enterprise, and/or subscriber level for all of your Trusted Call Solutions – to accelerate compliance and customize the call experience.

Robocall Mitigation
Identify unauthorized and suspicious use of phone numbers and detect trends and anomalies in calling patterns to block robocalls. Our solution complements STIR/SHAKEN call authentication.

Vetting Services
Verify the entity, business purpose, intent of calls, and ownership of telephone numbers to accurately identify legitimate call originators for enterprises that may not be known to you.

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