Telephone Question

[Crow]

We're having a hypothetical debate here at work, and I was wondering if you guys could give a little insight on this;

Would it be possible to set up a bank of telephones, or possibly multiple skype accounts in which each phone or account could be made (or programmed or something) to dial a specific telephone number multiple times, hang up whenever someone answers the line or it gets a busy signal, and re-dial the number again?

Is there a way that one could activate such a system remotely?

Thanks.

[Kobold-Bard]

We're having a hypothetical debate here at work, and I was wondering if you guys could give a little insight on this;

Would it be possible to set up a bank of telephones, or possibly multiple skype accounts in which each phone or account could be made (or programmed or something) to dial a specific telephone number multiple times, hang up whenever someone answers the line or it gets a busy signal, and re-dial the number again?

Is there a way that one could activate such a system remotely?

Thanks.

I'd imagine so. Random Digit Dialling basically has a system ring numbers, hanging up and saving the number if it gets an active line, discarding those that don't.

Doesn't seem like that much of a jump to make it redial the same number on a loop.

Any particular reason?

[Crow]

I'd imagine so. Random Digit Dialling basically has a system ring numbers, hanging up and saving the number if it gets an active line, discarding those that don't.

Doesn't seem like that much of a jump to make it redial the same number on a loop.

Any particular reason?

We use a telephone-type system for backup comms, so we are trying to determine if they can be "disabled" or jammed enough to warrant a hard-wired intercom system.

[Tirian]

It would be possible to create such a system. I trust it would also be possible for the phone company to quickly detect that this activity was happening and cancel the phone lines that were doing the harassing (and give you plenty of evidence if you wanted to proceed along criminal or legal avenues). So I don't think you'd need to overplan a defense for this sort of attack.

[Crow]

It would be possible to create such a system. I trust it would also be possible for the phone company to quickly detect that this activity was happening and cancel the phone lines that were doing the harassing (and give you plenty of evidence if you wanted to proceed along criminal or legal avenues). So I don't think you'd need to overplan a defense for this sort of attack.

How soon could this be detected and disabled? We are looking at very short timelines, so even 5 minutes would be an eternity as far as we're concerned.

[mucat]

It would take you longer that 5 minutes to explain to the phone company what's going on, let alone for them to do anything about it.

What you're describing is a classic Denial of Service attack, but targeting a phone number rather than a network site.

[Jack Squat]

While possible (as explained by other posters), how likely would it be to happen to your company, and how much do you stand to lose if this communication line goes down?

It might not be worth upgrading.

[Crow]

Well since it is definitly possible, I still need to know the other parts of this question;

Can something like this be accomplished through a service like skype?

With either system (Skype, or hardlines), can the attack be activated remotely (sat phone?)?

[Rawhide]

Yes, this is definitely possible.

Yes, it can be performed with hard lines. It can also be performed with a telco provided VoIP system.

Yes, it can be performed with a VoIP program such as Skype.

Yes, it can be activated remotely on either system.

[Crow]

Yes, this is definitely possible.

Yes, it can be performed with hard lines. It can also be performed with a telco provided VoIP system.

Yes, it can be performed with a VoIP program such as Skype.

Yes, it can be activated remotely on either system.

Thanks for the clarification. Pretty scary stuff!