The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is asking telecom providers to adopt technology that screens suspicious calls.

“What we announced today is a protocol called SHAKEN/STIR. It’s already coming into force in the U.S. by the end of the year. By September of next year Canadian companies will get it,” said CRTC spokesperson Patricia Valladao.

The system’s name is an acronym for Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs (SHAKEN) and the Secure Telephone Identity Revisited (STIR) standards. The technology won’t necessarily stop all phone scams, because SHAKEN/STIR operates on Internet-based phone systems and isn’t compatible with land lines or mobile phones.

It helps the telecom provider validate incoming calls to determine whether they’re coming from scammers and authenticates them for the users.

The CRTC is encouraging Canadian telecom carriers to adopt SHAKEN/STIR.

“Canadians are really tired of getting these calls from fraudsters in India or other places. We tell Canadians to not provide personal information during these phone calls. There’s a need to educate Canadians about this,” said Valladao.

Blair McBride

Blair McBride covers the Legislative Assembly, business and education. Before coming to Yellowknife he worked as a journalist in British Columbia, Thailand and Ontario. He studied journalism at Western...

Join the Conversation

1

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

  1. I keep wondering if this new blocking protocol will keep me from using Google Hangouts to call phones in the US and Canada. I have a 100-minute cellphone plan and rely on the hangouts app to make most of my outgoing calls. Until now I have been able to notify people via text to expect my call from a hidden or unfamiliar number. I’m concerned they won’t even get a chance to answer if the service provider is the one blocking it.
    Anybody have any tech info that could answer my question, or know where I can get an answer?