A friend of mine wanted to be a spy when she became an adult. The desire was so great she investigated the potential of studying the profession and eventually working for the federal government, but the dedication required for the craft was more than she was willing to sacrifice. She instead pursued another path, yet still enjoyed the spy gear I gave her at a party last year. After all – once a dream, always a dream.
As adults, we discover that in this day and age of advanced technology, the concept of spying has gone beyond the fantasies associated with James Bond. Spies come in a number of different forms and they’re not just looking for government information – they also want to spy on the average citizen and mobile professional. If you transmit information digitally, spies are likely interested in you.
This growing interest is one reason why Ziklag Systems, a developer of next-generation security products to support enterprise applications, has announced the launch of its Office Anti-Spy solution. This anti-spying app was developed for smartphones and is targeted toward corporations and executives. The main goal is to make it impossible for one of these spies – or hackers – the listen to or record private conversations or meetings taking place on the professional’s smartphone.
For some, the use of VoIP call recording is a business function, meant to capture a call with a client to ensure quality control and prevent against dispute resolution problems. It seems beyond the realm of understanding that a hacker or a spy would want in on that action. If personal information is exchanged, however, that action presents significant opportunity for the hacker. It is for this reason alone that companies adopting a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) must have protection in place.
Before the arrival of smartphones, VoIP call recording took place mainly within the enterprise call center as management sought to abide by industry regulations, assure quality controls and even train customer service agents. These functions are still common today, but many agents are using smartphones to take customer calls. Likewise, more than a few professionals are conducting all of their business on the go and putting the company at risk if playing fast and loose with access.
Spies throughout the world make a very good living off the oversight of others. Access to a corporate network through a vulnerable smartphone can mean access to social security numbers, credit card numbers, bank accounts and so much more. The recorded call can capture much of the same, putting that information into the hands of someone who plans to profit from it. Without anti-spyware on the smartphone, the information is free for the taking.
Edited by Alisen Downey