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Overview of IM Logging and Archiving

Cisco WebEx Connect allows you to log and archive Instant Messages (IMs) that users in your Organization exchange with each other or with users outside your Organization as your Organization allows it. IM logging and archiving allows your Organization to monitor and review IM exchanges. In most cases, this is done to comply with the enterprise's information audit processes.

You can enable IM logging and archiving for users in your Cisco WebEx Connect Organization. Cisco WebEx Connect can send the logged messages for archival to the following archival solutions:

  • Iron Mountain's DRC-CM
  • Global Relay's Message Archiver
  • Secure SMTP Service: This option allows you to configure a SMTP server to receive IMs as emails. In this case, IMs become part of the same archival system as your emails enabling you to use the same archival and auditing solution that you use for email.

Iron Mountain DRC-CM and Global Relay Message Archiver are Saas-based message archiving services.

Information logged in an IM session

The following is logged in an IM session:

  • Date and Time
  • Participants (user names)
  • Plain text
  • HTML (including the text equivalent of an emoticon)
  • System messages such as invitations and participants joining and leaving.
  • File transfer initiation and termination, including name of file, and size of file.
  • Video call initiation and termination
  • PC-to-PC call initiation and termination
  • Audio conference initiation and termination
  • Cisco WebEx Meeting initiation and termination
  • Desktop Share initiation and termination
  • Phone call initiation and termination

For a complete list of messages logged in an IM session, see the following topics:

  • IM Logging and Archiving Messages
  • IM Logging and Archiving Messages for WebIM

Restrictions for logged IM users

The following restrictions are applicable for logged IM users:

  • Users whose IM needs to be logged must use the Cisco WebEx Connect version 6.5 desktop client or the Web IM client. However, other participants can be using an older version of the Cisco WebEx Connect client or any third party IM clients (where XMPP or AIM federation is enabled) while participating in an IM session with the logged user.
  • The logged user cannot be logged onto a Cisco WebEx Connect client lower than version 6.5 or on any 3rd party IM client.
  • Logged users must not have end-to-end (AES encryption enabled) encryption enabled. If a logged user has end-to-end encryption enabled, the “logged” status of the user will take precedence and end-to-end encryption will be disabled for the user.
  • A logged user will be unable to join a group chat session that is encrypted.
  • A logged user cannot participate in a group chat hosted by a federated user (e.g. user on the AIM or GoogleTalk network). However, federated users can participate in a group chat hosted by a logged user.

Each participant in an IM session with a logged user will see the following notification after the first IM is exchanged:

All instant messages sent in this session to and from this account, as well as the initiation and termination of any other communication modes (e.g. voice call, video call) will be logged and are subject to archival, monitoring, or review and/or disclosure to someone other than the recipient.

If both users are set up to be logged, they will see this notification twice (once for each logged user). This is also true for participants in a group chat. Each logged user will generate one notification (per head). This notification will be repeated every hour for long-running IM sessions. The notification frequency is reset every time the logged user logs out of the Cisco WebEx Connect client.

IMs are temporarily stored in Cisco data centers before they are transmitted to the customer's servers over a secure channel. Once the transmission is complete, these IMs are permanently deleted from Cisco data centers. The following graphic shows the IM logging and archiving process.

 

 

IM_Logging_Archiving_Architecture

Defining an IM archiving Endpoint

Setting up IM archiving for your Cisco WebEx Connect Organization involves configuring the archiving endpoint in Cisco WebEx Administration Tool. The IM archiving endpoint is the place where the logged IM data will be sent to. You can configure multiple endpoints but set only one endpoint as the default.

Endpoint configuration involves specifying the following parameters:

  • Endpoint name
  • Endpoint type
  • Endpoint parameters: Parameters vary according to the endpoint type.

To learn how to set up IM archiving endpoints, see Setting up IM Archiving.

After configuring IM archiving endpoints, you need to assign users in your Cisco WebEx Connect Organization to be logged. There are several provisioning methods that allow you to assign users to be logged as listed below:

Licensing

IM Archiving is a separate solution that you need to get provisioned from Cisco WebEx. For information on how get IM Archiving provisioned for your organization, contact your Cisco WebEx Customer Success Manager.

Provisioning information is displayed in Cisco WebEx Administration Tool under Resource Management in the Configuration tab. IM Archiving will not work for users over and above the number of users your Cisco WebEx Connect Organization has been provisioned with. For more information, see Specifying resource management information.
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