🔒 WebRTC Security

WebRTC has revolutionised real-time communication with browser-based voice and video. But as more businesses adopt it for mission-critical applications, a pressing question emerges: Is WebRTC secure?

Let’s unpack the risks and what you can do to protect your calls, clients, and data.

WebRTC Security: The Basics

At its core, WebRTC is designed with security in mind. It uses:

• DTLS (Datagram Transport Layer Security) for encrypting signalling and media control messages.
• SRTP (Secure Real-Time Protocol) for encrypting audio and video streams.
• ICE, STUN and TURN servers to negotiate peer-to-peer connections while handling NAT traversal securely.

Learn more about how WebRTC encryption works.

What About IP Leaks?

A common concern is the WebRTC IP address exposure problem, which can inadvertently leak users’ local IPs—particularly through STUN requests. Even browsers like Chrome and Firefox have struggled with this.

For a quick check, tools like WhatIsMyBrowser.com let you see what your browser reveals.

To mitigate this:

• Disable WebRTC in browser settings (if possible).
• Use TURN servers exclusively (avoiding direct peer-to-peer).
• Enable mDNS hostnames to obscure local IPs.

DTLS & Browser Support

DTLS plays a central role in WebRTC’s security. But not all endpoints implement it equally. A misconfigured WebRTC proxy or SIP gateway could leave gaps.

For advanced protection, ensure your signalling path (often SIP over WebSockets) also runs over TLS and consider inspecting SDP (Session Description Protocol) payloads for vulnerabilities.

Explore the details of DTLS in WebRTC.

Is WebRTC Safe to Use in Business?

Used correctly, WebRTC is remarkably secure. But many businesses fail at the implementation stage. Relying on outdated STUN servers or open-source softphones without patching can leave systems exposed.

For businesses deploying softphones, a WebRTC SIP client or browser-based softphone with strong encryption, authentication, and TURN fallback is essential.

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