Securing For-Your-Eyes-Only Digital Communications the Right Way 

WhatsApp and Signal are end-to-end encrypted. Sounds like they are great channels for sensitive communications, right? It depends on your definition of the word. If the topic is sensitive to you on a personal level, these channels might just do the trick.

But if you are sharing confidential business information, discussing classified topics or need to demonstrate compliance for an auditor, you need to step up your security game. It's no wonder everyone's talking about the US Government group chat Signal leak. But this is not an isolated case. Some of the other ones include:

• Leaking of over 6,000 classified German army meetings leaked online through a flaw in video-conferencing tool
• "Zoombombing" where unidentified users appear in video conferences
• Exploiting Slack's AI features
• Financial institutions failing in record-keeping and using unapproved communication methods, leading to fines
• And yes, the US Government again, this time using Gmail for government communications

There's a common theme here. Using consumer-grade solutions for confidential, sensitive or military communications.

Let’s look at nine benefits of a solution built for businesses and organizations that are required by the law to look beyond consumer-grade tools. 

1. Audit and Trace Communications for Record Keeping

Audit Trails for Accountability: Maintain a detailed log of all communications and interactions to determine who communicated with whom, when, and what was discussed, without compromising privacy. 

Adhere to Compliance with National Security Standards: Secure communication solutions help meet stringent national security standards and regulations (such as FIPS, GDRP, NIST, or ISO 27001), ensuring that sensitive information is handled in compliance with legal and governmental requirements. 

2. Take Control Over Communication Infrastructure 

On-Premise, hybrid of cloud hosted: By using an on-premise you keep full control over the communication infrastructure. Cut the dependency on third-party platforms that you cannot control. In the public cloud, the solution encrypts communications, no matter how many servers it travels through. 

4. Data Classification and Federated Communications

Two things need to be in sync. An understanding of data classification levels (public, restricted, confidential, secret) and having a solution that allows building communication channels that add restrictions accordingly. For example:

Closed Federation: Communication is restricted within an organization's own servers for select users only.

Ecosystem Federation: Multiple organizations connect their servers for controlled collaboration.

Open Federation: Anyone can join and communicate across the global network.

5. Use Strong Authentication and Identity Management 

Strong Authentication: Employ sophisticated identity management protocols (e.g., biometric, two-factor, hardware tokens) to ensure that only authorized individuals can access sensitive communications.  

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Ensure that even authorized individuals can only access information relevant to their role within the organization to minimize needless exposure of sensitive data. 

6. Reduce the Risk of Data Leakage 

Secure File Sharing: Secure platforms also allow for encrypted file sharing – for very large files (1Gb) - minimizing the risks of sensitive documents being leaked or intercepted while in transit. 

7. Enterprise-grade Sensitive Information Protection 

Mitigate the Threat of Eavesdropping and Cyberattacks: Traditional and consumer-first communication channels are increasingly vulnerable to eavesdropping, hacking, and cyberattacks. A security-first solution tailor-made to protect sensitive communications of businesses and organizations ensures that communications remain private and protected against unauthorized access. 

8. Apply End-to-End Encryption 

Stop Unauthorized Access: End-to-end encryption (E2EE) ensures that only the intended recipient can decrypt and access communications, making it virtually impossible for anyone, including service providers, hackers, or even governments, to access the content of the messages, calls, or video feeds. 

Security Against Insider Threats with Your Own Encryption Keys: E2EE encryption ensures that data is useless to unauthorized individuals without the correct decryption keys, even in the event of a breach of a sever. This minimizes the risk of insider threats compromising critical communications. 

9. Reliability and Continuity of Operations 

High Availability: Build a communication infrastructure that is air-gapped, highly available and offers low latency and minimal downtime.  

SalaX Secure Messaging- Build “For Your Eyes Only” Channels of Communication 

We at SSH Communications Security are the originators of our namesake Secure Shell (SSH) protocol. Both the company and the protocol are celebrating 30 years of securing communications for demanding organizations around the world. 

SalaX Secure Messaging solution is developed by SSH, using both the Element communications platform and the decentralized Matrix open standard for secure and interoperable communications. We are Silver members of the Matrix organization. 

It is the same technology stack as used by the French government, the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr), NATO ACT, Sweden’s Försäkringskassan, United Nations International Computing Centre and the US Department of Defense. Element was also cited as a Strong Performer in the Forrester Wave for Secure Communications (Q3 2024). 

Don’t leave your sensitive chats, rooms, calls or video conferences to chance. Learn how SalaX Secure Messaging can revolutionize your organization's sensitive communication security, contact us to learn more. Or how to send encrypted emails.

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