The Importance of Securing Collaboration Tools

We're all familiar with emails and text messages from cybercriminals trying to steal our credentials by tricking us into taking unwanted action, but just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, a new attack vector has emerged - our collaboration and messaging platforms, where smart threat actors are breaching inadequate levels of security.

The recent flexible working explosion has seen messaging and collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and others become critical corporate necessities, and alongside this there’s been a huge increase in messages and invites from colleagues who’ve had their accounts hacked - and the communications are actually from criminals seeking confidential information and access to business systems.

Late last year, reports emerged of security issues and vulnerabilities in collaboration platforms including Microsoft Teams and Zoom, where attackers could gain access to internal services and sensitive data through backdoor vulnerabilities.

Assisting organisations to continually increase their levels of protection across all collaboration applications is an on-going process, particularly as traditional email usage declines in preference to new and evermore sophisticated messaging platforms.

And although corporate policy may stipulate the use of email for sending sensitive business information, research shows that over 75% of employees send information and attachments over messaging platforms, regardless of company rules.

For IT leaders and policy makers the answer is simple, don’t fight it … fix it.

Business data is everywhere nowadays and maintaining compliance and regulatory control is an ongoing challenge as the attack surface continues to expand through the use of new enterprise applications. 

Collaboration platforms that go beyond email greatly enhance productivity and are already established in the workplace, where balancing the needs of employee efficiency with dynamic, robust security across the widening attack vector is business critical.

Sure’s Professional Services consultants help organisations build sustainable, modular and future proof cyber security solutions for the digital age. In each unique case we identify and deploy the appropriate levels of protection across IT infrastructures and business operations, with management and on-going support as required.

For more information about our cyber security services and how we protect entire corporate infrastructures, please email us at contactus@sure.com.