Finansielle tjenesters ubelejlige behov for WhatsApp-arkivering (Harriet Christie)

I september 2022 nåede Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) og Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) forlig på i alt omkring 1.8 milliarder dollars med

12 af Wall Streets førende investeringsbanker. The prominent institutions, which included Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, were penalized for failing to monitor employees’ use of unauthorized messaging apps, like Whatsapp, with
colleagues and clients. 

The probe followed on from JP Morgan’s $200 million fine in December 2021, with the floodgates apparently opening. Authorities seem to have used that initial $200 million settlement figure as a yardstick for the industry, signifying the end of an unofficial
grace period afforded firms adapting to the pandemic.  

Such monumental penalties have of course had a seismic impact on the financial services landscape, with the repercussions reaching far beyond the behemoths evidently being made an example of. But how did we get to this stage, and how can firms address the
employee behaviors which are clearly no longer going to be tolerated?

Hvad sker der med WhatsApp? 

SEC mandater that banks maintain records of all communication between clients and brokers. Private exchanges, like those occurring through WhatsApp,
are far more difficult to monitor, and the likelihood of data being compromised only increases as personal devices are introduced to the equation. 

It’s important to note that the issue here is not with WhatsApp itself; the same concerns apply with WeChat, Telegram, and other ‘ephemeral’ messaging apps. It is the difficulties in documenting communications on these encrypted platforms, and the subsequent
contravention of record-keeping requirements, that is problematic. 

Træthed ved telefonopkald 

Until relatively recently, consumers had limited options available to them if they wanted to reach out to a regulated firm. To discuss their bank account, for instance, they’d need to either get on the phone or head over to their local branch for a personal
discussion. Now, they are able to communicate with the organization through a multitude of digital channels. 

Det er ikke bare en mulighed, men en præference. WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger og Telegram var blandt de

mest downloadede apps i 1. kvartal 2022, og WhatsApp selv har en astronomisk
2 milliarder aktive brugere i hele verden. Ifølge
Forbes93% af amerikanske forbrugere ønsker at kommunikere via sms, med hastighed, brugervenlighed og (forbruger)kendskab til platformene, hvilket viser sig at være afgørende fordele.  

Dette virker begge veje; det er også nemmere og mere effektivt for medarbejderne at kommunikere gennem værktøjer, som de er fortrolige med at bruge i deres daglige liv end dem, som deres arbejdsgiver har leveret. 

Fjernkanaler 

Afbrydelsen af ​​Covid-19-pandemien førte til langt større afhængighed af beskedapps, da fysisk nærhed, selv med kolleger, var forbudt. I 2019 fik 68.1 millioner amerikanske mobiltelefonbrugere adgang til WhatsApp for at kommunikere. Dette tal er fremskrevet til

vokse til 85.8 millioner brugere i 2023. Et biprodukt af denne afhængighed af nye digitale kanaler var en eskalering i antallet af arbejdere, der brugte

personlige telefoner eller tablets for erhvervslivet, da linjer begyndte at udviskes og professionelle og personlige liv flettede sammen. 

Employees are more likely to act casually when working remotely, whether that means taking longer breaks or messaging clients or colleagues through an unauthorized channel. Having allowed these communication habits to set in over a sustained period, they’re
now very difficult to shift back to a pre-Covid level, given the inherent convenience and usability that employees have become accustomed to. 

Betaling af regningen 

JP Morgan's
200 millioner dollars i bøde i december 2021 var den første betydelige straf i en undersøgelse, der også har påvirket de førnævnte dusin førende investeringsbanker til en værdi af 1.8 milliarder dollars. SEC's undertrykkelse er siden blevet ved med at vokse, ligesom Wall Streets

private equity-giganter har afsløret, at de er under undersøgelse.  

Håndhævelsesenheden er også lanceret
henvendelser about smaller Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) protocols for ‘off-channel’ business communications. RIAs are subject to the same regulations as the larger firms that were previously penalized, so while they may have been spared the ambush of
the initial investigations, they should be mindful that they’re in the regulators’ crosshairs nevertheless. 

Hvad nu? 

The situation leaves business leaders and compliance teams in a quandary. Should they sacrifice convenience and operational efficiency in the pursuit of compliance, banning messaging apps outright and instead relying on the tried and tested solutions of
email, phone calls and, to a lesser extent, social media? 

Dette er sandsynligvis en fristende mulighed i betragtning af de enorme straffe, der administreres. Det har helt sikkert været den mere populære tilgang, da det i juli 2022 bare var

15 % af de finansielle virksomheder overvågede WhatsApp. 

But it’s not quite that simple. Banning employees from using particular channels doesn’t necessarily mean that all risks are eliminated. The prohibition of helpful tools will probably lead to disgruntled employees and “compliance gaps” in the workplace.
The safer option is for business leaders to understand the platforms that employees and consumers prefer to use, then developing suitable policies accordingly.  

Ultimately, if employees want to use unauthorized apps, they will do so, unless a supervisory procedure is in place to police it correctly. This has had immense repercussions for the likes of Goldman Sachs, Bank of America et al, who have not succeeded with
this step, despite their resources.  

Kan WhatsApp overvåges? 

Den foretrukne mulighed her er helt sikkert at give personalet mulighed for at bruge de platforme, som de er mest komfortable med, og minimere begrænsninger, hvor det er muligt.  

To achieve compliance on encrypted platforms like WhatsApp, business leaders must ensure they can capture, preserve, and monitor conversations. This is easier said than done, and the process has historically been a source of great difficulty. However, in
recent years, new solutions have been developed specifically to tackle this emerging necessity.  

Much as they had previously for social media platforms, leading digital archiving vendors have built the technology to capture and archive communications data from apps like WhatsApp, WeChat, Signal and Telegram. This rescues business leaders from the frustration
of having to choose between efficiency and compliance; both can now co-exist very peacefully. 

Crucially, firms can also allocate secondary numbers on personal devices, allowing employees to differentiate between business and non-work-related contacts, and capture pertinent data accordingly. This means that privacy can also be maintained despite heightened
levels of professional scrutiny. 

Det ville være kontraintuitivt at ignorere den stigende efterspørgsel efter krypterede beskedapps på arbejdspladsen. Det behøver virksomheder heldigvis ikke længere.