Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) is growing in popularity, but bundling it with other conferencing and collaboration tools such as video conferencing, Web conferencing, instant messaging and information sharing might just turn it into the "killer app" we've all been waiting for. Unfortunately, these types of applications to date have not been known for their ability to keep private information private, critically important for businesses and government agencies alike. No one – especially an organization’s legal department – wants to be the next example of a hacker’s “success story,” with the company name strewn across the front page of the national news.

So, how can your organization realize the productivity and cost benefits of these integrated IP-based collaboration tools without becoming the next victim of a security breach? The first step is to learn what to look for when choosing the software for your organization.

Online Collaboration Defined

Whether you’re the chief executive officer or the most junior level marketing assistant, there’s one thing all professionals have in common: the need to work together to ensure success. The scenarios requiring collaboration among staff, team members, clients, partners or vendors are truly endless. In fact, while nearly 11 million meetings take place each day, according to the “Meetings in America” series from MCI, a professional’s responsibilities require collaboration far beyond official meetings. Quick calls or instant messages to check on the status of a project, e-mails with the next version of a press release or whitepaper for review, or turning a spontaneous lunchroom discussion into a spontaneous brainstorming session on a new product idea are only a few of the ways in which an organization conducts business. While technology for collaboration has been around for years, factors such as cost, the privacy of the information and the efficiency of the work have encouraged the creation of IP-based collaboration tools, otherwise known as “online meetings.”

The most advanced of these tools deliver live video, telephone quality VoIP, joint editing of documents and spreadsheets, instant messaging and archiving, and information sharing, all integrated into one convenient and inexpensive package. VIACK’s VIA3 Assured Collaboration Service also includes security as the foundation, protecting all components of the communication with encryption such as the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Using this type of software, professionals can see and hear their colleagues while holding weekly staff or strategy meetings, especially with remote managers, partners or the board of directors; review and edit articles, press releases or training presentations in real time; or store documents to access at a later time.

Fortunately, they can do it all without fearing that the information they’ve exchanging or storing might be compromised by those who do not have a right or a need to know about the information.

How Does the Security Work?

It’s natural for an organization to be a bit leery of any technology that might open private information, including customers’ credit card information, to unwanted intruders—even when that technology can increase employee efficiency and actually make them money by enabling increased productivity throughout the day.

IT administrators are responsible for ensuring that firewalls, anti-virus software and various network security devices are in place. It takes much more than that, however, to ensure your data remains secure, especially when it might be compromised by someone inside the organization. As a result, complete, airtight security of both the perimeter of your network and the data/file level needs to be at the top of your requirements checklist when looking for an integrated IP-based collaboration tool. Half-measures or add-on safeguards won’t do the job: the entire system must be fully protected from end-to-end.

Look for a tool with security built-in, not as an add-on or afterthought. Preferably, that security would be fully based on AES, with no information ever sent or stored in clear text format. So what else should you look for when choosing a secure IP-based collaboration tool and what can your organization do to ensure your data remains secure while using it?

Ensure that the software you choose has both voice and video over IP integrated in, and use them both whenever possible during your online communications so attendees can be identified by their voice and face.
Find a software that enables users to change passwords (and/or a service that doesn’t store the passwords) and require your employees to change passwords frequently (and do not use services where passwords can be easily obtained and abused).
Do not allow storage of company data on home computers unless the employee teleworks or does a lot of authorized work at home.
Review the actions of individuals. Knowledge that such “audits” occur act as a deterrent to unauthorized or inappropriate actions.
Warn interviewers to note any job applicants who provide too much information about the last big project they worked on. This is a red flag that the applicant is likely to remove similar materials when he or she eventually leaves your company.
Create a company-wide security and privacy policy that includes the above issues and continually educate your employees on this policy.

By protecting data from every possible point of external access and implementing a company side security policy, you can insure that you're doing your part to keep your organization's — and your customers' — data private and confidential while using the next generation of integrated IP-based collaboration tools.

Cathy Planchard is Director of Marketing Communications at VIACK Corporation. Cathy represents VIACK in radio interviews and as an author on secure collaboration for security, government and collab

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