SHAKEN/STIR: it’s not a martini, but it’s already packing a punch for robocallers.
SHAKEN/STIR* is a framework of interconnected standards that digitally validates the handoff of phone calls passing through networks, enabling the carrier to authenticate and stop robocalls before they reach consumers.
In January, the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act received a final sign-off by the President after being passed by the Senate and House earlier in 2019. The bill implements a penalty for violations and requires voice service providers to develop call authentication strategies.
Why is this important to you? Even if much of your customer communication happens digitally these days, voice is probably still critical to solving complex issues and sharing sensitive information. But, because of robocalls, many customers won’t answer incoming calls from a number they don’t recognize. In fact, according to Forrester, the challenges of calling customers is directly affecting businesses’ bottom line and customer satisfaction.
As service providers implement call authentication and customers receive fewer robocalls, we expect that you will see an increase in your ability to contact customers over the phone.
There is nothing for your to do with your phone system or cell phone today to take advantage of this as SHAKEN/STIR is all done at the carrier level prior to the call even getting to you.
There are applications that can work with premise based phone sysytems such as the Nusance Call Handler from Mitel / ShoreTel that can take calls from programmed Caller ID’s and play a busy tone or send the call to VM so they never reach their entended destination.
*SHAKEN: Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs
STIR: Secure Telephone Identity Revisited