How to ensure your mobile marketing strategy is secure
Your customer data is your business, so security levels should never be compromised. Businesses considering SMS marketing often wonder if it’s really secure, and rightly so. Hardly a day goes by without proclamation of the latest outage - cyber security is a very real problem for modern business.
So how does one go about implementing an SMS strategy without putting customer data at risk? As a business, you should have complete peace of mind that your customer's data is safe, secure and in good hands. Your customer data is your business, so security levels should never be compromised. That’s why it’s important to ensure your bulk SMS provider has the right security measures in place.
Here are some key insights to look out for:
- Best in class SSL certificates
The Extended Validation Certificate, or EVC, is the highest class of SSL. A good SMS marketing provider will ensure it has the highest possible level of protection, but it’s worth remembering that not every provider has to have an EVC in place. It’s a choice and an investment, but ultimately, a confirmation to you as to how seriously they take data protection.
- Cyber ‘seals of approval’
When considering which SMS provider to choose find out if they have been awarded the Cyber Essentials certificate. This is a government-backed scheme to assist businesses in maintaining cyber security standards.
- Look out for the little green padlock
When you follow a link from an SMS, you probably noticed a little green padlock in your browser URL bar. This is a Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL, and it creates an encrypted connection between your web server and your visitor’s web browser. By doing so, a private connection is established and information can be transmitted just between your web server and your visitor’s web browser, eliminating the possibility of a third-party tampering with your data, eavesdropping or message forgery.
It’s worth doing your research as to how regular the SMS provider tests their own security walls. Regular penetration testing is vital to a business as it ensures their cybersecurity contains no points-of-weakness and fully complies with PCI DSS standards at all times.
- Key Exchange and Cipher Strength
Key Exchange creates an algorithm in which secure data can be transmitted between two parties. Cipher Strength is basically the strength of the padlock that protects your precious information. These features ensure data transmitted is strengthened from attack from external cyber attacks
These insights offer both mobile network operators and their customers reassurance of good practice in data security. As with any technology, SMS cannot offer 100% security. However, the peculiarities of SMS technology, good practice and its networks make it difficult for thieves to target, and as such, it’s not often that an attack occurs in the first place.