Back from DSEI, and time for reflection on our first face to face, in the real world event in nearly two years. A lot has changed, and not just pandemic-related working patterns. Since we were last at DSEI there has been a sea change in perception about the necessity for secure communications. There is a growing understanding of why people need controlled, secure apps for business/work/official comms and why consumer grade apps, like WhatsApp (and others) are simply not suitable. This article in the New York Post is the latest in a string of news stories on why WhatsApp is not as private and secure as Facebook would have us believe: https://nypost.com/2021/09/07/facebook-reads-and-shares-whatsapp-private-messages-report/
As the world reopens for business it needs trusted communications across untrusted networks
Talking to a wide range of people at DSEI has confirmed what we believed to be the case from many conversations we’ve had in recent months. While working from home people have been using tools like Teams and Zoom, which they are now used to. Organisations know that such tools are not really secure enough, but they’ve mitigated a lot of the risk with processes and additional technology, because while people are working from home, the network is a known entity, even if not totally trusted.
However, as the world starts to open up once more, people are moving to hybrid and remote working, which means a return to airport lounges, coffee shops, shared offices, and anywhere that there is a WiFi connection. Working from a myriad of different locations also means a return to dynamic untrusted and unknown networks in a landscape where threats have evolved and perpetrators are two years more savvy.
Unlike the start of the pandemic, where lockdown was sudden and IT departments scrambled to keep staff productive by any means possible, the return to more normal working can be planned, which means ensuring people have the appropriate tools for the job. This includes a professional, enterprise-suitable, secure comms solution.
Armour Comms has the answer
Working with our strategic partners at Qinetiq, Amiosec, Bittium and Samsung, Armour Comms is able to provide a broad range of solutions suitable for many different use cases including those with higher assurance requirements.
One of our customers is currently deploying Armour Mobile across several operational and office areas to replace the use of consumer grade apps. Our NATO approved solution now includes unique Secure Push technology from Bittium, allowing secure and battery efficient signalling of Armour Mobile calls and messages via classified networks without requiring connectivity to the public internet. This ensures that voice and video conversations, and the associated files and attachments stay completely private, no matter how hostile the environment, all the while providing a user experience to match consumer-grade apps.
On show for the first time was Unity by Armour, which works in conjunction with Armour Mobile to provide secure video conferencing calls (pre-defined or on-the-fly), screen sharing and integration with secure chat groups. The extension to our offerings enabling secure collaboration was extremely well received highlighting the growing requirement for enterprise secure video conferencing. In addition to our existing one-to-one secure audio and video calling Unity by Armour provides picture in picture and multiple screens, and offers a familiar video conferencing interface, making it easy and intuitive to use. Available with a choice of hosting options, which includes on-premises installation, communities are controlled by invitation-only, increasing security and guarding against ‘zoom-bombing’.
For more information about the importance of Secure Conferencing view our podcast on the topic here: https://youtu.be/Mrj9iaPedSI
Secure-by-default communications to power productive collaboration
The importance of a good user experience can’t be overstated. If secure solutions are difficult to use, clunky and irksome, people will simply resort to other less secure methods often via un-managed and unsecure ‘shadow IT’. A secure comms app needs to be easy enough to use for everyday business communications allowing users to be productive and collaborate without friction. People don’t want to differentiate between what should be a ‘secure call’ and a conversation that can be had over ‘normal’ channels, and nor should they have to. Armour Comms solves the conundrum of a secure-by-default comms application that is still easy to use and quick to deploy at scale.
Contact us today for a trial
