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Melissa Abramson
AUTHOR: Melissa Abramson
Jul 1, 2019 - 2 min read
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security

You’re Not Welcome Here: Microsoft Bans Slack Over Security Concerns

On the heels of Slack’s IPO, Microsoft announced that they are not allowing employees to use Slack while conducting work for the company. Slack is undoubtedly Microsoft’s biggest competitor, but the company claims the ban was due to growing security concerns.

As more employees are bringing their own collaboration tools to the office, IT experts aren’t always able to ensure the tech is set up securely. For a company as large and prominent as Microsoft, the concern is that sensitive information and intellectual property could potentially be leaked.

In a piece from Inc. on the Slack ban, columnist Jason Aten wrote, “The more technology helps businesses be more productive, the greater the risk that that same technology could lead to damaging consequences when it fails.”

Slack and other team collaboration platforms employ standard encryption, but at an enterprise level, that sometimes isn’t enough to combat the continuing trend toward BYOD (bring your own device) or BYOA (bring your own application). Implementing a formalized, universal policy with a specialty add-on software that helps alert IT to any improper or insecure usage can be a key step in the right direction, points out David Roe for CMSWire.

Another security concern not mentioned in any of these articles is around guest access. Many of the new team collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams or Slack include guest access, allowing anyone to invite an outside user (outside of a team or an organization) to join the platform and collaborate via chat, join channels, share files, and other functions.

After enabling guest access to external users, IT cannot control or dictate what security measures (such as password complexity, expiration, multi-factor authentication, etc.) external users will use to access their infrastructure. As a result, guest access can be risky. 

Guest accounts can also cause end-user support issues when they do not work, increase the total cost of ownership, and create management challenges. We’ll be covering these issues more in-depth in an upcoming blog post about guest accounts:

Comparing Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Cisco Webex Teams Guest Account Management
March 24, 2021
A Look at the Key Microsoft Teams Presence Updates from 2020

Presence indicates the user’s current availability and status to other users. By default, anyone in your organization using Teams can see (in nearly real-time) if other users are available online. As a result, presence in significant ways influences collaboration and organizational productivity.  Research finds that 47% of UC users see a moderate to a significant

» CONTINUE READING
January 5, 2021
Introducing Collaboration Scores: new insight to maximize employee productivity

Knowledge workers are increasingly using team collaboration applications to drive productivity and success for their organizations. In forcing many employees to work remotely, the pandemic has accelerated a trend already well underway for several years. It’s not uncommon today to find multiple online platforms in use across an organization, as employees look to communicate and work with colleagues,

» CONTINUE READING
November 16, 2020
Microsoft Teams FOMO: Switching Teams and Guest Access

In 2017, Microsoft introduced Microsoft Teams at Ignite. Microsoft Teams is a team collaboration platform, which brings together everything a team needs to collaborate: chat and threaded conversations, meetings & video conferencing, content collaboration with the power of Microsoft 365 applications, and the ability to create and integrate apps and workflows.   Today Microsoft Teams is

» CONTINUE READING
October 21, 2020
The Best Team Collaboration Software for Marketers

Marketing has a ton of moving parts. On any given day, there’s a seemingly endless list of campaigns, projects, and workloads that all need to be managed on a minute-by-minute basis. One of the best things you can do to set your business up for success is assembling a marketing dream team that can stay

» CONTINUE READING
October 6, 2020
NextPlane October Updates: What’s New

We are pleased to announce the availability of NextPlane Open Choice Channels for Slack and other enhancement to our external Slack collaboration capabilities. Open Choice Channels for Slack From a single shared channel to Slack Connect for up to 20 organizations, Slack has led the way in promoting channel-based communication between Slack customers. However, seven

» CONTINUE READING
October 1, 2020
Best Microsoft Teams Plugins and Bots

With more than 40 million messages being sent out every minute, it’s no wonder that messaging apps are outpacing social networks in popularity by roughly 20%. After all, we not only use them to communicate, but to make appointments, share updates, organize events, and make purchases. Reaching a whopping 75 million daily active users earlier

» CONTINUE READING
September 29, 2020
Microsoft Teams Updates at Ignite 2020: What’s New

Microsoft just wrapped up its first-ever digital Ignite conference. At this annual event, the company has presented plenty of announcements around Microsoft Teams for tech leaders and the community. In this blog, we will highlight the most significant Microsoft Teams announcements from Ignite 2020 for you to stay updated with the most remarkable features to

» CONTINUE READING
September 15, 2020
The Best Alternatives to RingCentral

How we communicate with one another in the workplace determines how healthy and productive an organization is. That’s what makes internal communication so important. Not only does it enhance transparency by making channels accessible to all employees, but it can help retain top talent by providing consistent feedback and engagement opportunities. More than 300,000 customers

» CONTINUE READING
September 10, 2020
Microsoft Teams vs. Zoom: Which One is Better?

As the demand for remote and mobile work increases, the need for effective collaboration is growing, too. Whether you want to enjoy a virtual happy hour with friends or host a business meeting with colleagues, Microsoft Teams and Zoom are two popular options that can make either scenario a reality. Microsoft Teams is an all-in-one

» CONTINUE READING

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