Malene Wessel reveals which features build trust in live chat and how to find out if your solution is GDPR compliant.
People have become increasingly concerned about the security of personal and sensitive information they share. This is especially true when communicating online.
According to a survey of 24,000 people in 12 countries, conducted by Verint and Opinium Research revealed that trust and transparency are the keys to building a good customer experience. In fact, 89 percent of these people said they want to know how secure their personal information is when dealing with an organization.
Live chat is designed to enhance the customer experience. If it doesn’t build trust, it could hamper your ability to build a trusted relationship with customers. So, what live chat features provide security so your customers are comfortable doing business with your organization?
With the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) now in force, compliance is essential. Be sure that your chat solution hosts, processes and encrypts data in full accordance with the rule laid out in the new GDPR regulations so that all your data is secure. You can learn more about GDPR here.
Secure chat is 256-bit SSL encrypted. SSL is a standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a server and a client—typically a web server (website) and a browser. It allows sensitive information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, and login credentials to be transmitted securely.
Normally, data sent between browsers and web servers is sent in plain text. This leaves you vulnerable to eavesdropping. If an attacker is able to intercept all data being sent between a browser and a web server, they can see and use that information.
SSL secures millions of peoples’ data on the Internet every day in the course of online transactions or when transmitting confidential information. Internet users have come to associate online security with the lock icon representing a SSL-secured or https website.
A cloud-based SaaS live chat solution is more secure because security updates are always current as they are completed by the fully-hosted provider. Because this type of solution is in the cloud, data access is strictly regulated to ensure no risk of data integrity and security.
Customer data protected by data masking increases security and privacy by hiding sensitive information. Since customers may not be aware of the risks of sharing these details during a chat session, it is best to enable this feature in your chat solution. Doing so results in higher security and privacy compliance for targeted information since it is never shown and can never be stored.
IP-Restriction allows you to control access to your chat agents. You can create a “members only” access by creating an IP access list so you always know who’s chatting with your agents. Secured with end-to-end encryption, only traffic from designated IP addresses gain entry.
This facilitates sand-boxing and secures data beyond typical security features of chat solutions. With a sandbox system you make sure that certain pieces of malware aren’t able to exploit systems with loose memory rules, causing havoc. Also, some parts of the memory are only for internal system executables. If a piece of malware is able to affect that part, then your computer is going to have problems. Having a sand box ready stops those problems in their tracks.
Online security is important to your prospects and customers. Make sure you include these critical security features in your live chat solution. They will help you build trust and stronger, longer lasting relationships.
About the Author
Malene Wessel is Head of Marketing at Live Guide Chat. For more information on how live chat can help companies increase sales and customer satisfaction while reducing their service costs visit liveguidechat.com.
