risk

UC Provides New Attack Vectors

As companies made / make the move from traditional POTS or analog phone services to VoIP (voice over IP) communications, they introduce new risks that may lead to sensitive communications being compromised. There are plenty of books available detailing various VoIP threats and potential attacks. Unified communications introduces the concept of Presence and expands communications beyond the phone, but is primarily built on or around voice communications- generally VoIP.

Securing communications is critical for most companies and is mandated by various regulations and guidelines. UC complicates things further by blurring the line between voice, email, instant messaging, network data, voicemail, etc.. A recent article from Network World explores the cracks that UC introduces into corporate network security as well as examining some of the myths or hype around VoIP security issues.

Policing Instant Messaging

One of the key building blocks of unified communications is instant messaging. Instant messaging (IM) client software acts as the focal point and primary interface for a variety of unified communications solutions including Microsoft Communicator, and Avaya One-X Communicator. IM has come a long way from its early days as an unauthorized rogue application installed by tech-savvy users. Many organizations have adopted IM as a business tool, but most were reluctant and slow to climb onto the bandwagon. Now, IM is the keystone of next-generation communications. IM still poses a risk though. It can threaten productivity. It can represent an attack vector for malware. It can be a compliance issue. Companies can gain many benefits from the effective use of IM, but they need to provide guidelines for its use in defined, and written policies. Check out Instant Messaging Policies Reduce Risk for more details about the issues and what should be included in a corporate IM policy.