Improved Performance of Secured VoIP Via Enhanced Blowfish Encryption Algorithm

Both the development and the integration of efficient network, open source technology, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications have been increasingly important and gained quick popularity due to new rapidly emerging IP-based network technology. Nonetheless, security and privacy concerns have emerged as issues that need to be addressed. The privacy process ensures that encryption and decryption methods protect the data from being alternate and intercept, a privacy VoIP call will contribute to private and confidential conversation purposes such as telebanking, telepsychiatry, health, safety issues and many more. Hence, this study had quantified VoIP performance and voice quality under security implementation with the technique of IPSec and the enhancement of the Blowfish encryption algorithm. In fact, the primary objective of this study is to improve the performance of Blowfish encryption algorithm. The proposed algorithm was tested with varying network topologies and a variety of audio codecs, which contributed to the impact upon VoIP network. A network testbed with seven experiments and network configurations had been set up in two labs to determine its effects on network performance. Besides, an experimental work using OPNET simulations under 54 experiments of network scenarios were compared with the network testbed for validation and verification purposes. Next, an enhanced Blowfish algorithm for VoIP services had been designed and executed throughout this research. From the stance of VoIP session and services performance, the redesign of the Blowfish algorithm displayed several significant effects that improved both the performance of VoIP network and the quality of voice. This finding indicates some available opportunities that could enhance encrypted algorithm, data privacy, and integrity; where the balance between Quality of Services (QoS) and security techniques can be applied to boost network throughput, performance, and voice quality of existing VoIP services. With that, this study had executed and contributed to a threefold aspect, which refers to the redesign of the Blowfish algorithm that could minimize computational resources. In addition, the VoIP network performance was analysed and compared in terms of end-to-end delay, jitter, packet loss, and finally, sought improvement for voice quality in VoIP services, as well as the effect of the designed enhanced Blowfish algorithm upon voice quality, which had been quantified by using a variety of voice codecs