Time to Lock Down your Enterprise Communications?

Best practices for UC security in the enterprise in 4 steps

3
EnterpriseUCCLockDown
Unified Communications

Published: May 31, 2018

Rebekah Carter - Writer

Rebekah Carter

As hacking attacks, gigantic data breaches and ransomware continue to make the headlines, enterprises are under more pressure than ever before to make their security strategies air-tight. With 2017 emerging as a record-breaking year for compromised data, security is a crucial part of the UC to-do-list for enterprises in 2018

Unified communications present a range of potential benefits to larger companies, including better cohesion between employees, stronger productivity, and improved customer service. However, while UC often comes with a range of unique advantages to explore, it also pushes enterprises to consider specific risks too. Here are a few of the things you’ll need to keep in mind.

1.     Deploy a Well-Configured Firewall

Just as there are countless different UC tools available on the market today, there’s also a broad range of firewalls out there to help defend your communication strategy. Deciding which firewall is right for you begins by assessing your technology and equipment infrastructure. Think about where the main vulnerabilities exist in your enterprise, and what you can do to protect your data.

A good rule of thumb for many companies is to block any unknown traffic coming into your network, only allowing traffic from trusted sources. While this might not work well for a web server, it could be helpful for securing the UC server.

2.     Get Everyone Involved

One of the biggest mistakes that enterprises can make when it comes to UC security, is assuming that due diligence belongs only to the communications vendor. Today’s enterprise companies need to know that security starts from within. Strong system passwords and compliance strategies help to ensure that everyone within your organisation is doing their part to keep data secure.

Make sure that your team knows how they can protect the business from breaches by avoiding any suspicious downloads and using complex username and password combinations. Don’t forget to consider enterprise mobility strategies too. For instance, remote workers should never log into an enterprise network from a public connection.

3.     Update Constantly

Most people in the tech world know that software needs to be updated regularly to remain secure. As software developers discover holes and bugs in their system that could be vulnerable to attacks, they roll out updates to fix those problems. A cloud approach to UC can help to make sure that you’re always staying up-to-date with the latest releases.

/unified-communications/ucaas or cloud-based unified communications ensures that updates are automatically applied to all the systems your employees use, whenever they emerge. This means that your IT team doesn’t need to consistently check for new releases.

4.     Look for Security Built-In

One of the easiest ways to improve the security of your unified communications strategy is to look for tools that have their own secure features built-in. For instance, your UC&C systems might come with dedicated encryptions and firewalls that help to keep your organisation protected. Even an option to distribute permissions at a granular level can help to make an enterprise more secure.

When looking for new UC tools to integrate into your network, search for things like managed tech support, IP blocking, access controls and more to keep your private data safe.

 

Customer ExperienceMobility
Featured

Share This Post