Many firms worldwide had to change their work setup as different lockdown measures worldwide kept employees from working on-site. Many employees from various industries, including the financial industry’s traders, bankers, and wealth managers, now work from their homes. As people now work remotely, they have more freedom on the tools they use to communicate with clients, prompting them to use personal devices.
The financial industry is heavily regulated, with different laws focusing on data protection. Many employees send text messages and instant messaging platforms to contact customers. To comply with such regulations, companies must monitor SMS text messages, and record voice calls. Increased traffic in electronic communications also opens up risks as companies fail to comply, and the employees conduct illegal activities, especially when the company doesn’t have efficient message monitoring solutions.
Firms must know how they can monitor text messages and other employees’ communications, even during the pandemic, when people are working remotely.
Document which Communication Platforms the Employees are Using
Companies can document what devices their employees are using as they work remotely. After determining the devices used, companies can then identify what communication channels they’re using to contact their clients. Afterward, firms can advise their employees on what they should use for their work should they use devices and channels that don’t comply with company rules.
Recordkeeping is much easier when all the employees use compliant devices and messaging solutions to communicate with one another and their clients. Should the employees continue to use platforms that aren’t approved according to company guidelines, then the appropriate sanctions must be imposed according to the firm’s policies to mitigate risk.
Once it is confirmed that the employees use compliant messaging solutions, the firm must ensure that they can capture text messages and monitor voice calls to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
Suppose companies find out that their employees use WhatsApp and/or WeChat to communicate with consumers. In that case, they can either restrict their employees from using the app or invest in solutions to archive messages sent through them.
Increase Surveillance on Employee Communications
Companies can review their employees’ communications after using their text message monitoring and other recording solutions to retain business-related messages. It’s important to check on the chats and calls to check for compliance issues in the earliest stages. The increased use of electronic communications increases the risk of non-compliance to data protection regulations and company policies.
It’s vital to increase the level of surveillance and conduct a weekly check of their electronic communications. Many risks can lead to violations of various regulations, including COVID-19 scams, cybersecurity issues, insider trading activities, misrepresentations, omissions, and suitability. Regular message monitoring allows companies to make sure their employees don’t commit any illegal activities.
Update Key Terms for eDiscovery and Communications Monitoring
The new working environment, coupled with the current market’s volatility, can affect how people talk in conversations. Firms that have effectively monitored past employee communications may need to update their key terms and phrases to check for compliance issues. Companies with outdated monitoring practices may create multiple false positives or fail to capture the complete picture of a conversation.
Firms must keep the following risks in mind when re-assessing the terms they use to monitor text messages.
- Cybersecurity – network breaches, hacking and phishing attempts, privacy concerns on sensitive information
- Valuation–communications to investors on investment performance and discussions among investment professionals that contradict communications with investors or other third parties
- Trading compliance– communications between investment team members and third parties that appear to indicate aggressive investments to take advantage of the market conditions and regain losses
- Investor complaints– communications indicating issues on the adviser’s responsiveness or other concerns
- Marketing/Investor relations– messages sent with false undertones that paint a rosy picture to prevent redemptions
- Records Issues – employee inability to access files or properly maintain records and use of unapproved communication channels
- Supervision– responsiveness of both staff and vendors
- Interactions with public companies– potential material non-public information (MNPI) sent as traders attempt to recover losses sustained in the current volatile market and search for non-calendared or reported calls
Use a Reliable Mobile Archiver
Firms can invest in a robust archiving solution that can monitor text messages, record voice calls, and retain conversations from WhatsApp and WeChat. Companies can streamline their data gathering processes with an archiver and allow for smoother eDiscovery response to monitoring employee communications.
The TeleMessage Mobile Archiver addresses compliance, regulatory, and eDiscovery requirements amid the pandemic. TeleMessage captures and records mobile content, including SMS, MMS, voice calls from corporate or BYOD mobile phones. The WhatsApp Archiver and WeChat archiver can also retain conversations on WhatsApp and WeChat, keeping companies from restricting the two popular messaging apps’ use among the employees. The messages are securely retained in one central location, either within TeleMessage servers or to a firm’s choice archiving data storage vendor.
Our mobile archiving products securely capture calls and messages from mobile carriers and mobile devices for various ownership models (BYOD, CYOD, and employer-issued). With our multiple archiving methods, you can find the right tools or blend for your needs:
TeleMessage offers cross-carrier and international mobile text and calls archiving for Corporate and BYOD phones. Contact Us to try our secure enterprise messaging and mobile archiving products today.
