Introduction
Financial services, healthcare, and other regulated industries must capture and preserve all business-related communications, including voice calls, SMS, and WhatsApp messages. Regulators such as the SEC, FINRA, MiFID II, and HIPAA mandate strict requirements for record keeping. Failure to capture these channels exposes organizations to compliance violations, fines, and reputational damage. This blog explores how to capture voice, SMS, and WhatsApp effectively for regulated communications.
Challenges of Capturing Regulated Channels
- Diverse Formats: Voice, SMS, and WhatsApp each have unique data structures and storage formats.
- Context Preservation: Conversations often span across multiple platforms (e.g., WhatsApp chat followed by a phone call).
- Encryption & Privacy: Platforms like WhatsApp use end-to-end encryption, complicating capture.
- Device Diversity: Employees may use corporate-issued or personal devices (BYOD).
- Global Regulations: Different jurisdictions impose unique rules for cross-border and multi-channel capture.
Voice Capture
- Call Recording: Capture inbound and outbound calls through telecom providers or enterprise telephony systems.
- Metadata Collection: Log caller IDs, timestamps, and duration for defensibility.
- Transcription: Convert recordings into text for eDiscovery and search.
- Retention Policies: Apply regulatory schedules (e.g., MiFID II requires 5 years of voice retention).
SMS Capture
- Carrier-Level Capture: Partner with telecom providers to intercept and archive SMS traffic.
- Device Agents: Install mobile device management (MDM) apps to capture SMS on BYOD devices.
- Contextual Metadata: Retain sender, recipient, and timestamps alongside the message.
- Policy Enforcement: Integrate with archiving to apply retention and legal holds.
WhatsApp Capture
- Enterprise Solutions: Use WhatsApp Business APIs or third-party connectors to capture chats, media, and attachments.
- Encryption Considerations: Ensure end-to-end encrypted data is captured via compliant APIs.
- Conversation Context: Preserve threads, reactions, and attachments for defensibility.
- Multi-Device Support: Extend capture to corporate and BYOD devices securely.
Best Practices
- Adopt a Unified Strategy: Centralize capture across voice, SMS, and WhatsApp into a single archive.
- Ensure Immutability: Store captured data in WORM-compliant storage for regulatory adherence.
- Automate Retention: Map regulatory retention schedules and enforce via automation.
- Integrate with Legal Holds: Ensure captured data can be preserved in case of litigation or investigations.
- Audit and Monitor: Maintain logs and monitoring to prove compliance during audits.
Compliance Considerations
- SEC and FINRA: Require preservation of electronic communications, including SMS and messaging apps.
- MiFID II: Mandates recording of voice calls and electronic communications related to financial transactions.
- HIPAA: Requires secure storage and access controls for healthcare-related communications.
- GDPR/CCPA: Data minimization and DSAR support must extend to captured communications.
Conclusion
Capturing voice, SMS, and WhatsApp is critical for organizations operating in regulated industries. By adopting enterprise-grade capture solutions, integrating with archiving systems, and aligning with retention and compliance requirements, organizations can ensure they remain compliant, defensible, and resilient in the face of regulatory scrutiny.