As we see more and more businesses shifting and raising their own online options, the way they communicate, serve and connect with customers is increasingly done online. And the best way to do this is by integrating instant messaging on your business front.
However, it is not easy to set up instant messaging on your system and there are possibilities you face security issues and have to deal with threats, when you don’t put up with the Instant Messaging Solutions properly.
So, if you are looking to build a chat solution for your business and want data to flow securely across the channel and help you derive most value out of it without experiencing any loopholes in the process, you first need to learn about the challenges.
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The very first thing that makes it a bit of challenge for business is the size of data. Instant apps are built to share heavy amount of data at a high frequency and lot of movement across the chat system. This makes the data highly vulnerable as it could be leaked, sacrificed or maligned easily. You have high chances of risking your data when you are using services built on weak and non-compliant networks.
Also, if you don’t follow proper standards and fail to apply proper practices you are most likely to get exposed to malware attacks and cybercrimes, which makes your Enterprise Instant Messaging solution face hard times and breakdowns.
Apart from this, if you don’t treat your Messaging solution with regular anti-malware and spamming updates, you are most likely to get your data sacrificed, making it fall prey of the ever-increasing online risks and threats.
Basically, with authentication you authorize ownership and accessibility to an account. Mostly, this is done by implementing Password Authentication Protocol, where the user is asked to enter username or some sort of ID in a combination of a password as credential. In some solutions, even devices are used as a source of authentication by making users unlock the device with its passkey to enter a built-in messaging solution. This is mostly done by biometric access via a fingerprint or face recognition system. Another way of doing this is through hardware-based encryption for stored credentials. In which, user details are fed into the system and they just use their digital certificates that are matched with the system-fed identity to access a resource, application, or network facility. As a common standard practice, while authenticating your messaging application it is always advised to validate access points with multiple combination layers and only allow long passwords with Alphanumeric codes.
Also read: What’s the Cost of Building an App like WhatsApp?
Data exchanged on messaging apps are prone to leakage, misuse and loss due to their nature of flow and usage. As you keep messaging across an app or a system with both ends open these messages can be left stored for days to be referred or intercepted by others. This can be avoided by adding end-to-end encryption to the messaging system in which messages are converted into encrypted codes to be shared across the devices safely. You must have seen it if you use WhatsApp. This way the data shared by two people are only accessed or seen by them on their devices.
Another way to do this is off-the-record messaging. With this you can make sure that no mediating agency, regulatory body or service provider can have external access to it. Gtalk famously uses it since years. Here, PIN encryption is another way to do it effectively. As this protects the data from being used over networks. This was quite popular among BlackBerry users who used it to connect on BBM (BlackBerry’s own messaging service).
Any type of encryption makes it really safe to exchange data across devices or networks as it is among the best ways to keep chatting or messaging served with high level of integrity and confidentiality.
To achieve best of data protection results and to have your data safely stored or archived, it is important to place it in a storage unit that is all equipped to deal with the safekeeping of the data. This can be done by storing it in a well-managed manner in a safe environment. This can be procured by selecting the right server location for it that is all capable of storing, centralizing, managing, attributing, dispensing and most importantly protecting it well.
If the server that is being used to procure, source and safekeep the data, effectively facilitating all of it you have your protection goals achieved for the enterprise instant messaging system. If it is not placed or located well, it can be highly challenging for the service to maintain and save data from different risks and threats. So, alongside authentication and encryption, it is important to allow Instant Messaging Service to have a right server location to commit to a fool-proof security agenda of service.
To be able to effectively protect Instant Messaging Solution for your business you need to follow all three practices in a combination that works well in your situation. To achieve success with your efforts, you can refer to a guide for securing messaging solutions or take help from experts while getting it deployed.
Vipin Jain is the Co-Founder and CEO at Konstant Infosolutions and is in charge of marketing, project management, administration and R&D at the company. With his marketing background, Vipin Jain has developed and honed the company’s vision, corporate structure & initiatives and its goals, and brought the company into the current era of success.
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