What is STIR/SHAKEN?

SHAKEN/STIR stands for Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs (SHAKEN) and the Secure Telephone Identity Revisited (STIR). They are industry standards for authenticating phone calls by using digital certificates with cryptography techniques to mitigate unwanted robocalls by reducing the impact of caller ID spoofing. The concept allows calls traveling through interconnected phone networks to have their caller ID “signed” as legitimate by originating carriers and validated by other carriers before reaching consumers. Each telephone service provider receives their own digital certificate from a trusted certificate authority to verify that the call is accurate and not spoofed. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is leading the push for industry adoption of these standards to help consumers as quickly as possible.

How does STIR/SHAKEN work?

The STIR (Secure Telephone Identity Revisited) and SHAKEN (Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs) standards create the framework to ensure every SIP-signaled call has a certificate and authenticity attached to it. The SIP headers capture information via the attestation field to authenticate the callers’ identity.

• Full Attestation – The service provider has authenticated their customer originating the call and they are authorized to use the calling number.
• Partial Attestation – The service provider has authenticated their customer originating the call but cannot verify they are authorized to use the calling number.
• Gateway Attestation – The service provider has authenticated from where it received the call, but cannot authenticate the call source (ex: Peerless Network call).

Once the originating call is authenticated, the encrypted Identity header traverses the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and is then verified by the terminating carrier. The terminating carrier can then use the results of the verification to aid in the combatting of unwanted Robocalls while indicating to the called party that the caller ID has been verified and can be trusted to be accurate.

What is SHAKEN (not stirred)?

STIR determines whether a call is fraudulent and SHAKEN deals with the technology and strategy on how to route those calls. Basically, SHAKEN takes the information from STIR and provides the data to guide service provider networks on how to best reduce robocalls.

Will SHAKEN work for international calls?

Currently, it’s only been implemented in the U.S. and Canada, but SHAKEN is designed to be used in international calls once other countries adopt SHAKEN.

How is Peerless Network involved with STIR/SHAKEN?

Peerless Network’s own redundant, low latency, high-quality voice, reliable network infrastructure and technologies are fully updated and compliant with the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) SHAKEN/STIR standards. In addition, Peerless Network has implemented even more measures that go beyond those standards with its interactive voice response technology (IVR) called Peerless CallTrue, which enables customers to have a better option than just blocking. Peerless CallTrue takes it a step further to mitigate robocalls. Peerless CallTrue provides simple recorded messaging that asks callers to enter commands, such as “please press 2” to verify the caller is human. This eliminates the need for your business’ customer service or sales representatives wasting time with unwanted calls, and ensures your business’ inbound call data isn’t skewed with spam calls.

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