By Kirk Drake | February 3, 2014

4 Hosted Exchange Questions You Might Consider Asking – If You Value Security

Credit Unions are different in their requirements for Hosted Exchange providers.  Aside from the normal security concerns, Credit Unions have regulatory concerns and must pick a provider that meets their more robust IT Security needs.  Below is an assortment of some of the best questions that really get at the security architecture of your Credit Union Hosted Exchange partner.

What happens with a Legal Hold in a Hosted E-mail environment?

Email is considered a “vital” record – one that captures communications between you, your staff, membership etc. On occasion you may find it necessary to freeze a mailbox (or recover) to preserve the integrity of its contents. For example, if one or your clients is being sued and must retain e-mail (or a specific email box)in existing condition during litigation what happens?  In that scenario, Ongoing Operations changes the vault options and secures the mailbox for whatever time period the client would like.  Simply open a support ticket with the pertinent details and our support team will take care of it.

Can we establish IP ACLs for Active Sync to lock down a device?

Access Control Lists (ACL) are often used to lock down specific devices to a resource. Unfortunately locking a device down via IP ACL for Active Sync is not possible at this time.   Our suggestion is to use the mobile device management software.

Does the provider offer a MDM (mobile device management) solution for Hosted Exchange users?

MDM or mobile device management creates a separate container on the mobile device for client data and enables the client to remotely lock or wipe that container should an employee leave a device is lost.   The MDM solution will also force the end user to go through the MDM solution to use the phone creating a more secure environment and protecting the clients data. The decision to use an MDM solution is often based on your risk profile and security needs.

What if we need an SMTP open relay in a Hosted Exchange environment for some business applications? 

Often times clients have applications that need to send e-mails and require encryption.   Ongoing Operations can support SMTP Open Relays in the Hosted Email environment but will require the that server be within the OGO network via a VPN or use a named account.  This enables us to lock down the device, server, or application and maintain our high security standards.

Related Content:

EAS or MDM – How to Choose the Best Mobile Security For Your Credit Union

Quick Tips for Understanding Email Filtering In A Hosted Exchange Environment

What are the Top 5 Considerations for Credit Union Backups?