Unified Communications is an effective and necessary technology in today’s business world, but it also presents a unique set of challenges because it pulls together separate technologies including VoIP, email, chat and video to function on a single messaging platform. Technology that becomes more complex and more accessible by those outside of the company tend to have a higher risk of security threats, so it’s important to have an effective security strategy in place in order to protect the company’s assets and customers. Larger, more established businesses have plenty of resources to support such a strategy, but small to medium sized businesses need to implement solutions that are simple to manage. Here are a few tips for building a solid security strategy:

1. Make a habit out of using strong passwords for all systems and processes. Reused or weak passwords remove one of the barriers and make it very easy for hackers to access your systems. The risk for damage is very high here, as a hacker can leverage your system to make phone calls from your phone number once the platform has been compromised.

2. Implement a VPN for remote users to increase security measures and decrease the risk of a remote hack. Extra layers of authentication makes it more complex to achieve a security breach, and a VPN requires users to enter a throwaway authentication code in addition to their user name and password. This is an increasingly important feature as telecommuting becomes more common.

3. Regularly updating software has become a standard in technology security, but its importance is worth mentioning. If you have out of date software, you miss out on security patches that are designed to fix potential holes in the system. Software updates also fix bugs and viruses in your systems, making the infrastructure stronger and more resistant to attack.