The widespread adoption of ephemeral communication apps presents a massive blind spot for enterprise-level IT departments to navigate. The rise of the remote and hybrid workforce will see workers increasingly relying on consumer-grade communication apps with disappearing message capabilities to carry out day-to-day operations. This will inevitably prove to be a challenge for CISOs who need to exercise tight corporate controls. The inability to carry out thorough internal investigations and complex audits will literally disappear into the ether.
Navigating Complex Regulatory Frameworks
Different industries are under incredibly tight data retention laws that dictate the handling of digital communications. Financial services need to comply with SEC and FINRA regulations, while healthcare services need to comply with HIPAA when handling patient data.
In addition, data privacy laws such as GDPR and CCPA dictate the need to store communications related to specific data types. These regulatory bodies demand total visibility into the corporate communications landscape. The failure to adequately store day-to-day interactions will inevitably lead to crippling financial penalties.
The Hidden Costs of Unmonitored Channels
The failure to adequately document communications will inevitably undermine the entire enterprise security posture. The first and most obvious cost of unmonitored communication channels relates to permanent data loss. The departure of an employee will inevitably see valuable corporate IP, important project updates, and sensitive client communications walked out of the business via unmonitored text message channels.
What’s more, the failure to adequately store digital communications will inevitably lead to severe legal penalties. The inability to produce communication records during litigation will inevitably lead to damaging allegations of spoliation of evidence. In addition, cybercriminals will inevitably take advantage of unmonitored communication channels, knowing full well that these applications completely bypass the first line of security filters and threat detection tools.
Implementing Reliable Preservation Systems
To overcome these complex communication challenges, it's necessary to adopt an effective combination of corporate policies and technological advancements. First, it's necessary to shift your entire workforce to IT-approved communication systems that provide administrative control. After that, you can introduce automated archiving systems that collect data silently in the background.
For instance, if your company heavily relies on Microsoft's collaborative communication environment, you can implement a system that allows for a backup Microsoft Teams chat and beyond. By doing this, you'll be able to archive all file transfers, direct messages, and group conversations, ensuring that they remain easily accessible and well-indexed in the future. By adopting these invisible safety systems, you'll be able to protect your company without affecting the daily operations of your employees.
Securing Your Enterprise Communication Strategy
Data preservation systems form an essential part of an organization's integrity in the modern world. By adopting automated archiving systems, IT managers are able to shield the company from both legal challenges and security threats in the future. It's necessary to evaluate your existing communication systems to determine whether there are existing archiving systems in the environment.
By taking decisive control of your messaging systems, you'll be able to prepare your security team for the stringent security audits and internal investigations that may happen in the future!
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