NEW DELHI, INDIA and BANGALORE, INDIA -- 07/03/08 --
Researchers at IBM's
India Research Laboratory have developed advanced data masking technology
that helps call centers protect critical data without disrupting customer
service or business operations. As IBM (NYSE: IBM) continuously seeks new
methods to ensure privacy and security, the company intends to utilize this
capability in its own call center operations to further protect information
for its services clients around the world.
The new data masking technology helps call centers and Information
Technology Enabled Service (ITES) organizations by providing effective
security and privacy of data which helps in managing customer trust and
protecting the brand, which is critical for the call center industry.
Developed by IBM's India Research Laboratory, the technology is a speech
analytics tool that helps in complying with security and privacy
legislation and compliance standards, which in turn enhances customer
satisfaction.
Designed to help dramatically improve call centers, this sophisticated IBM
technology detects and masks private and sensitive information collected
from audio recordings of conversations between call center agents and
customers. Previously, there was no known technology which provided this
functionality.
"Call centers, and the agents who answer customer questions and address
their concerns, play a vital role in reinforcing their organization's brand
experience while maintaining customer trust. The ability to maintain
customer trust requires organizations to be able to ensure the security of
their customers' private information, such as credit card numbers, personal
identification numbers (PIN), social security numbers and other information
collected through agent-customer interactions," said Dr. Guruduth Banavar,
Director, IBM India Research Laboratory. "Designed to transform data for
better security and privacy, this technology, developed by IBM Research,
helps to ensure effective measures to safeguard company brands and manage
customer trust."
Typically, in a contact center the audio recordings are stored and
subsequently shared with various individuals for different purposes such as
auditing, personnel training, and quality management. During the process of
sharing, audio files become vulnerable to unauthorized individuals getting
access to sensitive information, which opens opportunities for personal and
confidential information theft and other misuse. This unique technology
from IBM's India Research Laboratory processes these audio recordings in
order to detect and mask the sensitive information and makes it accessible
to authorized personnel only; thus preventing misuse of the data.
The new solution will help companies protect their data while taking
advantage of the best resources available throughout the world. Voice and
screen masking utilizes a combination of speech analytics and metadata to
locate portions of an audio or screen recordings that contain sensitive
data such as a credit card or bank account numbers. The masking solution
blocks that portion of the call or screen during playback for individuals
that are not authorized to hear or view the sensitive information.
This novel technology helps in protecting audio files, particularly the
agent customer interaction in a contact center against misuse and theft. It
helps enterprises to comply with various security and privacy legislations
and comply with multiple industry standards. "Though the technology can be
used in any setting, it is especially vital for contact centers and the
ITES industry where sensitive information is exchanged," said Dr. Mukesh
Mohania, who heads the Information Management research team at IBM's India
Research Laboratory.
There is an increasing awareness for companies to protect the privacy of
their customer information. Given the pace at which outsourcing industry is
expanding and the sensitivity to potential misuse of customer data, it
becomes imperative to manage customer trust. This next-generation tool will
help the outsourcing industry to secure customer information in
agent-customer recordings by masking sensitive data in voice and screen
recordings from unauthorized users to protect against identity theft and
fraud.
About IBM
For more information, visit www.ibm.com
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Contact:
Jennifer Knecht
917-472-3607
knechtj@us.ibm.com
