Encrypted communication and collaboration app Wire claim that it is "the most secure collaboration platform."
I had heard this before, many times in fact, but had never seen any proof of this notion. One of the ways the company does this is via encrypting every message sent and received, reducing the chances of a malicious intrusion.
As such, this led me to sit down with the man who runs the show - Morten Brøgger, CEO, Wire, who chatted with me about everything from Amazon’s acquisition of messaging platform Wickr to man in the middle mobility.
He likens one of the most widely-used ways of setting up cloud architecture; to a slippery slope, nothing that this man in the middle method of encryption puts users in harm's way, providing a clear path for bad actors to gain access to secret company data.
This is middle man mobility in a nutshell - and Brøgger said that it allows cloud providers to read and listen to any communications you have. In the case of getting served a legal subpoena - a cloud provider would have to hand over said encryption keys. But what if they cannot access the keys? For starters, they could not be compelled to provide said information, as it would be impossible to do so.
According to Brøgger, many companies need to get on the bandwagon and learn the true value of security and privacy over leveraging outdated methods to "keep data safe." This is merely one of many several what he calls "clear signs from tech giants that secure messaging and collaboration are a must-have – right now," as well as in the future.
Brøgger did, however, note, he believes that there is a lot to do so firms around the globe can further secure their communications and collaboration technology. He elaborated, stating:
"Security was not always the priority for enterprises last year when we suddenly and dramatically shifted how we work. Although Amazon and Zoom have recently made moves, many other large tech companies have not fully integrated more secure solutions."
He continued noting; while Wire's team is excited that organizations have started to embrace the significance of security in their tools - there is still much to be done to make the business of doing work (actually) secure. With advice for the growing number of what he calls "critical industries," Brøgger notes, particularly those with close ties to sensitive government information and other enterprises:
"These folks should consider data governance and Zero Trust."
The idea of "zero-trust" is an IT security model that requires a strict identity verification process for every person and device trying to access resources on a private network - no matter if they are within or outside of the network perimeter.
This is the philosophy Wire subscribes to, if it sounds familiar. Eliminating the Enterprise-Wide Encryption Key and replacing each message with a unique encryption code does bring enterprises one step closer to realizing (true) security, and on a device level, too.
Already, companies like Zoom have made strides toward remedying security for users; after backsliding on misleading secretary claims, it announced that it acquired Keybase to help it beef up user security efforts. The partnership would eventually deliver on the promise of extending end-to-end encryption to all Zoom users back in 2020 - both free and paid.
What's at stake, Brøgger told GetVoIP News, is bigger than what most realize. Already, we've seen a rise in the number of cyberattacks from Russian hackers in recent years. And most recently, we witnessed the world's largest financial ransom attack where hundreds of businesses from the U.S. to Europe were impacted, indicating that the issue will not halt anytime soon.
Looking toward the future, companies, Brøgger concluded, will have to think as governments do and prioritize end-user as well as organizational security to reduce their risk of unwanted intrusion, the loss of money as well as trade secrets.