Securing a Unified Messaging Environment

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Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 will reach end of support on April 11, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

 

Applies to: Exchange Server 2007, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP3

An important aspect of network security for your organization is correctly configuring security for your Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging (UM) infrastructure. This includes using the security-related configuration options for your Unified Messaging servers and UM-enabled users. By increasing the level of security within your Unified Messaging environment, you increase the level of security for your whole network. This topic contains information and links to security-related topics that can help you increase the level of protection by doing the following:

  • Configuring the appropriate PIN settings for users in your organization

  • Enabling the security settings to help protect the Unified Messaging network data and servers in your organization

  • Effectively assigning administrative permissions to manage your Unified Messaging environment

Unified Messaging Security

There are three security-related areas to consider when you deploy Unified Messaging. You can help increase the level of protection for your network if you correctly plan a Unified Messaging security strategy and then correctly configure the security settings that are available to administrators in the following areas:

  • UM-enabled user PIN security   When a subscriber or a UM-enabled user uses a telephone to connect to a computer that has the Unified Messaging server role installed, they use Outlook Voice Access to move through the Unified Messaging menu system. However, before the user can access the Unified Messaging system, the system prompts them to input their PIN. As the administrator, you can configure PIN settings and requirements and perform PIN management tasks. For more information about how to configure PIN settings for UM-enabled users, see Configuring Security for Unified Messaging Users.

  • Securing Unified Messaging network traffic   There are several security methods that can help you protect the Unified Messaging servers and the network traffic in your organization. This includes traffic that is sent between your IP gateways and Unified Messaging servers and between your Unified Messaging servers and other Exchange 2007 servers in your organization. For more information about how to help secure the network traffic that is generated by Unified Messaging, see Securing Unified Messaging Network Traffic.

  • Configuring permissions for Unified Messaging   In many organizations, there are separate administrators for Microsoft Exchange, the Active Directory directory service, and the telecommunications equipment. Therefore, administrative functions must be delegated to maintain distinct boundaries between different levels of administrative permissions. For more information about the security permissions that are related to Unified Messaging, see Configuring Unified Messaging Permissions.

For More Information

For more information about security and protection features in Exchange 2007, see Security and Protection.