The 3 Keys To Eliminating The Risk Of Communication Hacks
Communication is the lifeblood of any organization. No matter what line of business you are in, the ability to quickly and efficiently share information and data is key to short and long-term success. But in a 21st-century world plagued by data breaches and high profile hacks, electronic communication can also introduce serious liabilities. Having a responsible communication plan means anticipating risks and being proactive about building a resilient data security strategy.
If you are worried about the security of your organization’s communications, here are three steps you should take to ensure your communications are as secure as possible.
1. Train Staff To Recognize The Risks
The first step in addressing the issue of cybersecurity is education. If your staff members do not understand just how vulnerable common tools like Gmail and SMS are to hacking and spyware, they may fall back on these tools out of comfort and familiarity. It is usually not enough to issue directives against using private email for business-related communications: you need to makes sure your team understands just how easy it is for hackers to access the contents of private emails and text messages.
Once you have established a baseline understanding of how serious the risks are, staff members are much more likely to adopt better communication practices
2. Use Encrypted Smartphones
The gold standard for securing communications is an encrypted smartphone. Encrypted smartphones allow individuals to communicate quickly and confidentially with each other safe in the knowledge that their conversation is inaccessible to hackers. The most cutting edge encryption software currently available — ChatMail Secure messaging services— uses the proprietary ChatMail Advanced Messaging and Parsing Protocol (CAMP) to offer the most sophisticated encryption in the world.
One of ChatMail’s most notable innovations has been the incorporation of chat functionality. Most standard PGP encryption options rely on email, but with ChatMail’s encrypted end-to-end messaging protocol, users can send and receive instant messages via an intuitive, easy-to-use chat interface.
3. Follow Data Storage Best Practices
One of the biggest risks for data security lies in archived communications. The facilities needed to store large amounts of digital information are often susceptible to cyber-attacks and data breaches, and while every organization will have the information it needs to save and store, it isn’t always necessary or desirable to have extensive communication logs stored indefinitely.
Using an encrypted messaging service that does not store chat logs on a server eliminates the risk that sensitive communications will be leaked in a data breach, and services like ChatMail Secure provide an easy way to guarantee that information is destroyed once it is no longer needed. Messages automatically delete after 24 hours (this can be adjusted to anywhere up to a week), and favorited messages can be saved for a week, two weeks, three weeks, or 30 days.
The latest data for 2018 suggests that cyber-attacks are rapidly evolving in response to new data security measures. Despite major progress in educating the public, and improvements in anti-virus and privacy software, the only way to guarantee secure end-to-end communication is through encryption. Fortunately, with new options like ChatMail, businesses can have the safety of encryption without reducing functionality or making communication more cumbersome.
Rob Teitelman is an avid blogger and digital marketing enthusiast with years of experience creating content for businesses and brands. His work has been published on major publications and blogs across North America, covering a variety of niches from tech to real estate. Recreational guitarist, amateur photographer and avid fan of all things technology and gadgets.