In business, secure communications is everything. If you don’t make sure that your employees and collaborators are able to communicate with each other then departments won’t run as they should.
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Indeed, ensuring secure communications should be one of your primary concerns as a business owner. Consider investing in robust infrastructure for cross-channel communication, creating a fortified network that shields your valuable information from potential threats. If you don’t ensure that communications are secure then they could be intercepted and important messages redirected.
Since fraud is more prevalent than ever before there has never been a better time to think about making your company’s communication channels more secure. This post will explore this topic in more detail and tell you how you can do that:
Secure Communications Through Two-factor Authentication
Now more than ever, businesses are using digital services to facilitate phone calls instead of traditional landline providers. You can get real USA-based non-VoIP phone numbers for a fraction of the price of a landline subscription.
When you consider this fact, it’s not hard to see why people are making the change to online phone services. One of the main advantages of online phone services is that they provide many more means of protection than landline services do.
For example, an online phone service will give you the option to set two-factor authentication up. Two-factor authentication means in order to access your account, you’ll have to submit a code that only you will be given access to.
Two-factor authentication isn’t something that landline phone providers can offer, for obvious reasons. It is theoretically still possible for hackers to access your account even if you have two-factor authentication enabled, though.
They typically do this by hijacking the email address or phone number to which the code is sent. By doing this they are able to intercept the code and access the account that they are trying to get into. This can badly jeopardize secure communications within your organization.
You can prevent this from happening by downloading anti-virus software on your phone. Most people believe their phones are safe from hackers, but this isn’t necessarily true. Make sure you download email protection software, too.
Anti-Virus Software
If you want to prevent internal company communications from being intercepted, then you need to make sure that you have high-quality antivirus software in place on all of your company's computers and devices.
As mentioned in the previous section, it is very common for people to think that their mobile phones cannot be hacked. Unfortunately, mobile phone hacking is becoming a lot more common.
You can download antivirus software for your computer and your mobile device. Having antivirus software or preventing hackers from being able to compromise your devices using viruses.
Viruses are typically transmitted via email or text message. Finding antivirus software can be very challenging if you have never had to before. You can by conducting a simple Internet search and then choosing the provider who has the best reviews.
A provider’s reviews can tell you a lot about them or make the process of determining whether or not they're the right company for you a lot easier. Make sure that in addition to reading reviews, you conduct research elsewhere on the Internet. You may want to read forums. Forums can be helpful learning resources.
Using Virtual Private Networks
Virtual private networks (or VPNs) are programmes that people use to safeguard their identity when they're browsing the Internet. The use of virtual private networks is an effective way to ensure secure communications and it has never been more common than it is today.
When you consider the large amount of hacking that takes place on the Internet daily it is not hard to see why this is. If you are looking for a VPN then you need to find one that has a good online reputation.
Again, you can find out what a programme or business's reputation is like by reading its reviews. People tend to leave reviews when they have had positive or negative experiences. If a programme or company's reviews are overwhelmingly positive then it is a clear sign that they can be trusted.
When you are looking for a virtual private network to use you also need to think about server speed. You can download and use virtual private networks for free, although these VPNs tend to have very slow server speeds.
If you are running a business, then you need to make sure that your business's VPN servers are extremely fast. If they're not fast, then your employees’ work and performance are going to be negatively impacted.
Vetting Your Employees
Did you know that statistically, most data leaks occur from within? In other words, the vast majority of data leaks and hacks that take place are the fault of employees. If the industry that you work in is a lucrative one then there is a chance that it might be profitable for an employee to sell data to hackers or marketing companies.
Corporate sabotage is a big problem in Business Today. You can protect your business from this by ensuring that the employees you hire are qualified and experienced and have never been in trouble with the police before.
Individuals who have been arrested for crimes before are more likely to commit crimes again in the future. You, therefore, need to rule out hiring felons or convicts in your company. In terms of avoiding felons and convicts, you can hire vetting services to check the criminal records of potential job candidates.
When you are doing this, you do need to make sure that you are diligent in your searches. In addition to conducting criminal record searches, you can also hire private detectives to delve into people's personal lives and to browse their social media pages.
You can find out a lot about an employee or a candidate by looking through their social media page. On a person's social media page, you can find out what their interests are as well as what their hobbies are and how they spend their spare time.
Punishing Data Leaks
If you do ever catch an employee leaking data to hackers or criminals, you need to involve the police. Involving the police and punishing the employee by terminating their employment and deterring other employees in the future from committing similar acts.
Corporate sabotage is a very serious crime but if anybody is caught doing it, they can actually be sentenced to a period of imprisonment. Under no circumstances should you ever allow an act of corporate sabotage to go unpunished.
Not only can corporate sabotage ruin your reputation with your customers it can also give your competitors a greater edge over you. For example, if an employee sells customer information to a competing business, that business will then be able to use it to sell its products to them.
Welcoming Company Audits
Most businesses do everything they can to avoid company audits. If you want to ensure secure communications for your company, then why not welcome them? By welcoming company audits from your industry regulator, you'll be able to find out if there are any weak points in your business's security systems.
Identifying and detecting weak points in your company's security systems gives you the chance to fix them. It can be very hard to identify these things yourself if you have not been trained to. You may even want to ask your industry regulator to audit you instead of waiting for them to.
Managed Security Services
One of the very last things you should consider doing if you want to protect the communication that takes place inside your company is to hire a managed security service. I managed security service will be able to properly investigate your company and look for any flaws in its security.
Finding a managed security service to hire shouldn’t be difficult. There are literally hundreds of them operating online. Make sure that you find one with good reviews and a solid reputation. Again, a company’s reputation can be seen on its review pages.
Regular Risk Assessment
Make sure that you perform a risk assessment on a regular basis. Performing risk assessments will help you to find any flaws in your company's security. If you cannot afford to hire a managed Security Service to do this for you then you can do it yourself.
Doing yourself is not going to be easy but it can still be done. You can make the process significantly easier by hiring a trained risk manager to come into your company and look for any issues. You can employ them as a full-time employee, or you can alternatively hire them as a freelancer.
Questions and Answers
1. How can you keep your company’s phone lines secure?
A: Secure communications by investing in an online phone service, as these provide much greater security than traditional landline phones do.
2. How can you prevent viruses from affecting your computers?
A: You can prevent viruses by downloading anti-viral software.
3. How can you safeguard your IP address and your identity on the internet?
A: You can download and use a VPN (or a Virtual Private Network) which will mask your identity and prevent people from being able to monitor you.
4. How can you expose flaws in your company’s security?
A: You can welcome an audit, hire an MSS (managed security service) or hire a risk manager.
Running a business is not easy. If you are somebody who is in charge of one, then you need to do everything that you can to keep it secure. Online fraud and cybercrime have never been more prevalent which is why it’s your responsibility as a business owner to keep your business safe by investing in tools to ensure secure communications.
