Phone conferencing is key to doing business in a global economy: It brings together associates from around the world for real-time exchanges of important information.

© Photographer: Tomasz Trojanowski | Agency: Dreamstime In today's global business market, conference calls are a necessity in keeping operations running smoothly.

In business, information is gold. According to the American Society for Industrial Security, as much as 75 percent of the market value of the average American company is made up of "intellectual property assets" like patented product designs, source codes and confidential client data [source: Asis International].

Since business executives often use phone conferences to discuss sensitive, valuable information, it's crucial that they invest in phone conferencing security. Without the proper security, disgruntled former employees and savvy hackers can eavesdrop on private phone conferences and sell the privileged information to the highest bidder. A secure phone conferencing setup will have protocols and safeguards in place for controlling access to conference information during and after the call.

In this HowStuffWorks article, we'll explain how to set up a secure phone conference that'll keep your business associates informed and corporate thieves at bay.