I recently focused on emails as business records. This is vitally important but so is messaging. There is a huge difference between "secure" messaging and messaging. This is important because frequently real estate professionals (not just agents and brokers, title and escrow and others too) discuss sensitive information about clients such as income, offers, credit profile.
The first issue is encryption. The first step in secure messaging is to utilize end-to-end encryption (E2EE). This method secures transmission of message data even if the information is intercepted. E2EE is an encrypted method utilizing cryptographic algorithms. This ensures that only the intended recipient has access to the sensitive information. It is important to realize that even the messaging platform does not have access to the content.
Multi Factor Authentication (MFA). This adds an additional layer of protection. Yes, it is annoying but it is important in real estate. You would not want to be the victim of a failure to secure messaging.
Audit Logs. These track all communication between parties. An Audit Log will track who accessed the messages as well as when the message was sent, read and edited. It also tracks whether the messages were altered and by whom (or is it "who" - Lol).
Finally...you must ensure that the secure messaging platform integrates - in a secure manner - with the underlying platform you are using!!
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