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3CX, Inc., is a Cyprus-based software development company and developer of the 3CX Phone System.

The 3CX Phone System is a software private branch exchange based on the SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) standard to allow calls via the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or via Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.[1]

Company history

3CX was founded by Nick Galea in 2005.

In 2006, 3CX released the 3CX Phone System as a free IP PBX for use in a Microsoft Windows environment. [2] The phone system’s first commercial edition, v6.0, was released a year later in 2007. Reviews of the product have noted its easy configuration, management, and hardware compatibility.[3][4][5][6]

In the following years, 3CX made a number of acquisitions including eWorks technologies in 2013,[7] the Elastix project and PBX in a Flash in 2016, and Askozia in 2017. In 2019, 3CX acquired WP Live Chat, a free WordPress plugin for live chat integration.[8]

In September 2016, 3CX announced a partnership with BT Wholesale SIP Trunking platform to serve resellers.[9]

In 2017 “PBX Express” was released, allowing a hosted PBX to be created on any hosted virtual private server. [10] The company would later launch a “Hosted by 3CX” offering.

In 2019, Stefan Walther was appointed as the new CEO of the company. [citation needed] In the same year, 3CX was featured on the internet TV show Hak5. [11]

In 2021 with the launch of version 18, 3CX integrated with Microsoft Teams to allow direct routing through the Microsoft platform.[12]

In June 2022, it was announced Walther would step down as CEO, with Galea returning to the position.[13]

Phone system

3CX produces a telephone system under the same name. The system consists of a number of software-based[14] components. It can be accessed via a Web Client, PWA, Desktop App, Management & Admin consoles, softphone for Windows, and smartphone clients for iOS and Android.

3CX can be used with either SIP phones or the clients, or a combination of the two. It provides unified communications functionality including call recordings, multi-level IVR, call center features, voicemail to email, fax to email, integrated video & call conferencing and omnichannel live chat messaging integration.

Security incident

On 29 March 2023, 3CX acknowledged its desktop client, 3CXDesktopApp, had been compromised to distribute malware.[16] Global cybersecurity firm Mandiant were appointed to conduct a full investigation.[16]

On 20 April 2023, 3CX published the investigation’s conclusions, revealing the hacking operation was a byproduct of an earlier software hack from an application from financial software company Trading Technologies, accessed through a 3CX employee’s PC.[17] The hack was linked to the same North Korean operators that compromised the Trading Technologies app.[18] As a result, 3CX announced a Security Action Plan to minimize risk of future attacks.[19]

Major releases

Each major release listed below was followed by multiple maintenance updates.

Version Build Number Release date
v20 20.0.0.1620 February 2024
v18 18.0.0.1880 August 2021
v16 16.0.0.1581 27 March 2019
v15.5 15.5.1694.0 1 July 2017
v15 56008 1 July 2016
v14 44241 1 September 2015
v12.5 12.5.37957.880 21 October 2014
v12 SP1 32495.362 1 September 2013
v11 1 July 2012
v10 10.19117 1 March 2011
v09 SP1 9.13763 1 July 2010
v08 8.0.9414 2 October 2009
v07 7.0.4249 4 December 2008
v06 6.0.612 23 June 2008

Table created according to the “3CX Phone System Build History”.[20]

Awards

  • 2015: ‘Price/Performance Value Leadership Award’, awarded by Frost & Sullivan[21]
  • 2015: ‘Tech Innovator Award’, awarded by CRN[22]
  • 2015: ‘Most Innovative Product’, awarded by the Innovationspreis – IT[23]
  • 2012: ‘Best Emerging Technology Vendor’ awarded by CRN[24]
  • 2011: ‘Best Emerging Technology Vendor’ awarded by CRN

See also

References

  1. ^ “3CX Ltd Headquarters by Seroff and Papadopoulos; Cyprus”. BIG SEE. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
  2. ^ Alexis Argent (2009-09-30). “VoIP Uncovered » Why 3CX? Interview with Nick Galea, the CEO of 3CX”. Blog.voipon.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  3. ^ “Latest Topics | ZDNet”. Reviews.zdnet.co.uk. 2015-06-30. Archived from the original on 2009-06-18. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  4. ^ “3CX – 3CX Phone System for Windows review”. IT Reviews. Unusual Publishing Ltd. 2008-04-14. Archived from the original on 2008-07-06. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  5. ^ “Unified Communications”. Vipplanet.com. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  6. ^ Wright, Karl. “3CX Phone System Free Edition [Computer Shopper]”. expertreviews.co.uk. Dennis Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  7. ^ “Comms Dealer – 3CX to integrate web conferencing technology following e-works acquisition”. comms-dealer.com. Retrieved 2024-10-12.
  8. ^ “3CX Acquires WP-Live Chat to Expand Market Reach”“3CX Acquires WP-Live Chat to Expand Market Reach”. CX Today. Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  9. ^ Savvas, Antony (2016-09-07). “BT joins forces with 3CX to offer channel software PBXs”. ChannelBiz UK. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
  10. ^ “3CX PBX Central Telefónica IP 3CX Phone System”. AGCOM Blog (in European Spanish). 2017-03-18. Retrieved 2017-03-30. Retrieved
  11. ^ “Episode 503 – Build a free VoIP PBX in under 10 minutes – Start programming a USB Dev Board for less than $20 | Technolust since 2005”. Hak5.org. Archived from the original on 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  12. ^ “Connecting Teams and Customers”. ITPro.
  13. ^ “Nick Galea Returns to the Helm as CEO”. 3CX. 2022-06-21. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  14. ^ “3CX Review | Under the Lid of the Software Revolution”. www.uctoday.com. 2017-04-18. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  15. ^ “3CX Build History V20”. 3CX. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  16. ^ a b “3CX hack caused by trading software supply chain attack”. BleepingComputer. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  17. ^ Greenberg, Andy. “The Huge 3CX Breach Was Actually 2 Linked Supply Chain Attacks”. Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  18. ^ Kovacs, Eduard (2023-04-20). “Cascading Supply Chain Attack: 3CX Hacked After Employee Downloaded Trojanized App”. SecurityWeek. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  19. ^ Galea, Nick (2023-04-20). “Actions not words – Our 7 Step Security Action Plan!”. 3CX. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  20. ^ “3CX Phone System Build History”. www.3cx.com. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  21. ^ “2015 Global Unified Communications Price/Performance Value Leadership Award” (PDF). Frost & Sullivan. July 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  22. ^ jcaponi. “2016 Tech Innovator Award Winners – Page 1”. CRN. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
  23. ^ Dudley, Jim (2015-03-27). “3CX Wins “Most Innovative Product” Award”. KeeFORCE. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
  24. ^ “CRN Recognizes 3CX as an Emerging Technology Vendor”. CrossRealms. 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2017-03-30.