Mobile communication broadly refers to SMS and other mobile instant messaging (IM) like WhatsApp and WeChat. Despite their inherent informality, their usage for business purposes continues to rise as both customers and employees find them efficient channels for getting business done, though knowing the right time to text or email a client is also important.
Nevertheless, the litigation and regulatory risk associated with the use of text messaging in business remains significant, particularly in the financial industry. Companies are obliged to record and archive both mobile calls and mobile text messages, while ensuring applicable privacy regulations. Stories about deleted text messages by employees and officials are making the headlines. The spoliation of mobile text messages presents a particular regulatory and litigation challenge.
This challenge should be addressed with the following best practices for using mobile phones for business communication:
Identify the communication channels being used: Firms must identify which communication channels their employees use for business, whether ordinary SMS or any proprietary IM. If the companies allow their employees to use personal devices for business communication, as part of the company’s BYOD policy, then firms must also find a solution that records the business communication alone without any impact on the employee’s private conversations.
Ensure captured data capture can be easily reproduced: While capturing mobile calls, or chats from mobile messaging applications it is important to capture them in a reproducible format for regulatory audits, by selecting a vendor who can capture voice calls and text messages in a format that preserves all metadata and can be presented to the regulator. If the firm uses applications like WhatsApp and WeChat, then the vendor must also be able to perform WhatsApp recording and WeChat recording.
Retention of recorded communication: Recording mobile communication alone is not enough. Companies must be able to retain the recorded and deleted data for at least the period specified by the regulators. TeleMessage offers solutions like WhatsApp archiving and WeChat archiving (and coming soon Signal archiving and Telegram archiving) for firms to be compliant while using popular mobile messaging applications.
Be compliant and promptly provide regulator requested evidence: Use proper tools to record and archive business conversations. Provide all relevant communication to the regulator, and not just those that are advantageous to you.
Deleted communication: With many IM tools allowing deletion, disappearing, and time-limited communication, like announced by WhatsApp. Make sure that your recording and archiving tool can cope with deleted and disappearing messages. Make sure that your surveillance and eDiscovery tools will be able to highlight and easily monitor such communications.
The original article can be found here.
E-mail us on sales@rincon.co.in and we will be glad to assist you.