Current events tell us that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland had a conversation with the U.S. Ambassador to the Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, which was “somehow” captured and posted to the Internet by a Russian agent.
This conversation did not reveal any sensitive information, but, according to reports, it was very candid and did portray the opinions of Nuland in a negative light, since one of the quotes that the news outlets seem to focus on is when she not-so-eloquently speaks about the EU using unfavorable language.
While the speakers have not officially admitted that it was in fact them speaking in the conversation, Nuland admitted that she was impressed with the sound quality of the recording. Russia’s involvement is not absolutely certain, but it was a Russian state worker who posted it on the Internet on his own time.
It was posted with commentary suggesting that the U.S. was being judgmental about the EU.
This story is perhaps an excellent example of how call recording can and should be used responsibly. Despite the fact that this is pure politics, Nuland’s comment alludes to the fact that she thinks it was not a microphone in her room or some sort of long-range recording device – it was a wire-tap from someone with control over their telecommunications.
As a business in the 21st century, every one of the phone calls within your entire enterprise can be recorded, sorted, and stored, to be analyzed at a later date.
Recordings can be searched for to reveal if there is some sort of useful information about how services are rendered, or how service compares to competitors. You may not be in charge of a spy network within other nations, but you can know with a few clicks of your mouse whether or not you something was discussed on your phones in your company, and then listen to all the particular instances of that sort of conversation.
Typically, call recording is a powerful, useful and integral tool for businesses to improve customer service, provide proof of calls and create operational efficiencies that collectively increase overall profitability.
The recent news puts call recording in a much more political, negative light. It is a power that must be, like a good old-fashioned super hero, used for good.
Edited by Alisen Downey