How to Keep Virtual Meetings Secure in the Age of Zoom

As we move into month seven of the COVID-19 pandemic, more companies are embracing permanent remote work. Yet this shift to working from home has created new opportunities for cyber attackers to target company networks through video conferencing tools used daily by remote workforces. Chris Carter, CEO of Approyo warns in the age of Zoom, an unsecured video conferencing solution makes companies vulnerable to cyberattacks. Carter says following good cyber hygiene practices can be a key defense to video conferencing security threats.  

This pandemic has brought many issues to the forefront, including how to secure video conferencing tools for remote workers. Organizations need to ensure they avoid cyber threats that can attack the digital landscape and expose their networks.

Security and network staff for organizations must take this threat very seriously. A plan must be put in place to help remote workers outside of the corporate walls. Let’s dig a little deeper and understand what security and network recommendations companies should follow to secure video meetings. 

Enable Remote Workers to Access Services Safely From Anywhere

First and foremost, all organizations must make sure that they work hand in hand with the security team and regular staff no matter where they are in the globe. It’s imperative that employers ensure staff members have security protocols put in place at their home locations. 

Typically, most people will have a generic Wi-Fi router purchased at a big box store installed in their homes. These are not secure right out of the box, so your corporate security team needs to work collaboratively with employees to secure them properly. Furthermore, passwords on such routers must be changed from the original because the preset password is not hacker-proof. The preset password is nothing more than a basic thing every sophisticated hacker in the world knows how to get around. These preset 11-character passwords in all devices can be broken into very easily and quickly.

Next, all security personnel must help staff set up a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN helps secure their location by masking the IP address and allows tech support to get into the employee’s video conference platform should issues arise.  

Learn More: 5 Things That Are Making Your Virtual Meetings Ineffective

While the security team is working through those issues, the networking team needs to make sure that the connectivity into the network (as part of the VPN) allows for access and security of the video conferencing program. 

In addition, if a staff member needs documents located on local servers back at the brick-and-mortar offices, the security team needs to create a solution we like to call a tunnel. This allows your video conferencing applications to work hand in hand with the VPN.

Learn More: Beyond Virtual Meetings: 6 Popular Collaboration Tools to Boost Productivity

Why Staff Training Is a Must for Video Conferencing Tools   

 Let’s discuss the video conferencing tools themselves. For starters, you must make sure every time you set up a brand-new meeting it has a new password associated with it. Some individuals including myself have a Zoom account with my own private room to it. More technology companies including Microsoft and Zoom have recently made individual passwords for every unique meeting a requirement.

There have been several instances in the last 12 months where organizations were getting what they call “Zoom bombingOpens a new window ”— individuals were using the same room with the same password over and over again,  allowing uninvited random people to crash the online meetings and disrupt the activity with inappropriate behaviour.  

One item that I think is very overlooked is training for the end-users at home. Since employees are using video conferencing tools daily they must have proper training. Setting up a 30-minute training session for all of your staff at their home offices to walk them through proper security and set-up will go a long way to making sure that your organization’s video conferencing programs are secure.  

Having your network and security team properly trained is the first step in securing video conferencing tools. It will make it easier for your staff to understand and learn the security methodology used for any of the video conferencing tools out there. Once they go through the proper training, they’ll be empowered to adhere to any corporate mandate relating to security. This will make any organization safe and secure for you and your staff members around the globe.

I highly recommend doing your research on your video conferencing tools, cameras, and audio in addition to working hand in hand with your security and network teams. This will ensure that you, your organization and your staff are safe and secure from any of the rouge activities that could happen in a video conference setting.

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