 When is the last time you sent sensitive company information in clear text over the Internet that anybody could read? Yesterday? 10 minutes ago? If you're using Yahoo, AIM, MSN, or other popular Instant Messaging programs as a tool to send information to clients, colleagues, and/or coworkers, then you are just as guilty as the next guy. You may be sharing trade secrets, confidential client data, company financial's, etc., and it's out there for the whole world to see. This is a serious problem and could result in devastating consequences for your company if that data gets into the wrong hands.
Additionally, most instant message programs are very susceptible to hacks, spoofing, sniffing, trojans, and other malicious activity that could compromise your identity and your security. Why is it such a serious problem? Free instant messengers transmit data in plain text. Furthermore, the messages have to be transmitted across the Internet to a central server with extremely high visibility. Even if you send an instant message to someone sitting next to you, the message goes out over the Internet, to the central server, and then finally back to the recipient. And again, this is all done in plain text. It could be intercepted, logged, hijacked, or whatever. There is no guarantee that your data is safe, and this could severely violate the privacy that you are trying so hard to protect.
An alternative to the free public Instant Messengers is to implement a secure, enterprise level Instant Messenger such as GroupWise Messenger from Novell. GroupWise Messenger is a powerful Instant Messaging application that is intended for secure corporate communication. Its entire purpose is to allow the convenience of Instant Messages, but with the security required by corporate enterprises. It's secure, convenient, and simple to use. And because it is cross platform capable, it doesn't matter if you are a Novell, Linux, or Windows shop (or a mixture of all three).
Here are the top reasons why you need to implement GroupWise Messenger in your corporate environment.
- GroupWise Messenger is cross platform and runs on Windows, Linux, and NetWare.
- GroupWise Messenger uses end to end SSL encryption to ensure that messages can't be hijacked. The Messenger client has an indicator to verify that sessions are encrypted.
- GroupWise Messenger does not have to transmit messages over the Internet. Since the GroupWise Messenger server runs on your own equipment, ALL messages stay within your network.
- Unless you choose to, the GroupWise Messenger service has no exposure to the Internet, so it is not as vulnerable to hacks and other malicious attacks.
- Only authorized users in your network can login and use the Messenger. Users will not be able to waste company time chatting with friends and relatives outside of work.
- All conversations can be logged and archived for later retrieval. The logs are stored centrally on the server, not on the users' workstations. In situations where companies are legally required to maintain records of all corporate communications, this is a very important feature.
Novell products, in general, have a long standing history of being secure and hack free. GroupWise Messenger is an excellent tool for internal corporate communication and continues to help companies around the world protect and secure their privacy and confidential information.
About Marvin Huffaker Consulting
Marvin Huffaker Consulting is located in Phoenix, Arizona and specializes in Professional Novell Solutions and Support. We focus on NetWare, GroupWise, ZENworks, and Identity Management technologies. We can plan, design, implement, and support these solutions for you. Our contact information can be found here.
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