By Kimberly Connella | May 12, 2020 | 0 Comments
In most organizations, virtual zoom meetings have skyrocketed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, virtual meeting security has become a growing concern as businesses move their communications from in-office to online.
Conference calls often discuss sensitive corporate information, client information, as well as intellectual data and property. Unfortunately, there have been numerous reports of security vulnerabilities such as unauthorized strangers attending zoom meetings without passwords and bad actors being able to hijack a user’s webcam via Zoom.
Furthermore, Zoom can measure and track whether users are paying attention during calls. There are several factors to consider about data protection, security, and best practices when your business is relying on virtual meetings.
However, zoom meetings are an essential part of business operations and business continuity plans right now. Instead of not participating in zoom meetings, ensure you and your employees learn how to secure zoom meetings.
There is a range of behaviors that can strengthen or weaken the security of virtual meeting tools.
As a result, we have created the following list of actions you can take to secure your zoom meetings to achieve optimal virtual meeting security.
As Zoom becomes the standard virtual video meeting tool, there are some steps you can take to keep your zoom meetings secure.
Specifically, practice the following:
If you are attending a zoom call on your computer, then use your phone to check your email or chat with other call attendees. This way you will not trigger the attention tracking alert.
Creating an account or logging in through Facebook credentials may save time, however, it is a poor security practice that significantly increases the amount of personal data Zoom has access to. As third-party data breaches increase, we need to be more selective about which applications and services we relinquish our data.
Ensure you are using the most updated version of Zoom, as specific vulnerabilities will still occur in the later versions. If you recently downloaded zoom, there is no reason to be concerned about this specific vulnerability.
Zoom is not the only virtual meeting tool available on the market right now. As a result, NIST has come up with several best practices to ensure optimal virtual meeting security.
In most cases, the level of risk in conference calls depends on the topics discussed in each call. The higher the risk, the more of these best practices you will want to implement.
Specifically, the following are virtual meeting security best practices:
If you have used the same access code or zoom meeting password for a while, then you have probably shared it with more users than you can recall. Make sure you are limiting the reuse of access codes and creating new ones in the event of highly confidential meetings.
If the topic you are discussing on your conference call is sensitive, then consider using one-time pins or meeting identifier codes. Furthermore, consider implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) if you have not already.
If you are holding a conference, webinar, or another online virtual meeting with attendees or non-employees, then make sure to use a green room or a waiting room so the meeting will not begin until the host joins.
Enable notifications when new attendees join by playing a tone or announcing names. If this is not a feature of your virtual meeting tool, then make sure the meeting host asks new attendees to identify themselves.
If available, also use a dashboard to monitor attendees—and identify all generic attendees.
Do not record the meeting unless it is necessary. In most cases, virtual meeting tools save the recording in the cloud or on your device. Either way, unless it is necessary, do not record or store meetings where sensitive information is discussed.
If it is a virtual meeting with video, then disable features you do not need like chat or file sharing.
Before anyone shares their screen, remind them not to share other sensitive information or background activity during the meeting inadvertently. Furthermore, ensure all your employees are aware and cautious of this security protocol.
Regardless of which virtual meeting tools you and your business use, ensure you are following best practices so you can use them securely.
If you are looking for help securing your virtual meeting or zoom meetings, then please contact us below and we can configure your devices, applications, and security for you.
Otherwise, you can call us directly at 855-459-6600.
Furthermore, if you are looking for more information, then check out our resource center.
Finally, you can always find us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.