The benefits of Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) are making it an attractive choice for enterprises upgrading their systems. From scalability to innovative collaboration tools as well as a single app to access all communication formats, there are many good reasons to invest in the technology.
From video conferences brainstorming strategic objectives to negotiations with a customer via voice call, enterprises are transmitting large amounts of data that makes their organization vulnerable to a cyber attack. If you’re contemplating UCaaS, it’s important to note that along with your implementation strategy, you also need a set of steps for securing the data that UCaaS accesses and transmits. Take a look at six critical steps for a more secure communications system:
Prioritize training: Help employees take an active role in preventing a successful cyber attack through training. Teach them how to recognize a secure hotspot, and circumvent this problem altogether by encouraging them to use applications on their mobile devices that keep traffic on your own system and not on the end user’s. You can also train employees to shorten their hibernation time on mobile devices so that a lost or forgotten device isn’t a target.
Keep applications up-to-date: Hackers look for loopholes or vulnerabilities in outdated equipment and applications, because they often have bugs within them that are easy to exploit. Make sure applications are up-to-date and pay attention to user alerts, and backup applications regularly.
Don’t skimp on monitoring: In many scenarios, a business doesn’t realize it’s been hacked until it’s too late. Monitoring helps establish a baseline so that you can recognize when there’s unusual activity, such as a user that’s suddenly logging in from a vastly different geographical location or at an unusual time.
Create strong authentication controls: This is another area where buy-in from employees is a good idea. Your staff may grumble about frequently needing to change passwords, but it’s an essential step toward adequate security to protect UCaaS data. You’ll want 16-character passwords with a mix of character types and upper- and lower-case letters.
Encrypt everything…and encrypt it again: Every cloud provider should be offering hypervisor technology that separates server space into isolated packets, but you should still ask whether the provider uses end-to-end encryption as a failsafe. They should guarantee that your data is encrypted at every step of transmission, from data center to endpoints.
Adopt a new firewall approach: Traditional firewalls won’t protect your enterprise, because UCaaS introduces new holes into your network. Many UCaaS providers solve this with session border controllers to prevent traffic from being transmitted over the public internet at any point. The provider should also offer strong malware solutions that protect against spam or viruses.
When you work with Access Tech, you’ll have a partner that helps you evaluate your technology needs and choose a UCaaS provider that offers superior communications tools while never compromising uptime, call quality or your system’s security. Contact us for more information.