While video conferencing has been around for several years, it hasn’t seemed quite as important as it has been over the last eight months. As COVID-19 swept the nation, many businesses turned to telecommute, virtual meetings, and remote services to keep things running more safely. Of course, as with any online tool, there are some security risks associated with using video conferencing software. As an IT consultant in Orlando, FL, we wanted to offer some security tips to keep your virtual meetings private. Keep reading to learn more.
Use Secure Locations
Of course, security issues are just as likely to arise from the people involved as the software you use. Ensure everyone participating in your meetings—particularly those where you’ll be discussing sensitive information—are doing so from secure locations. They shouldn’t be teleconferencing from a coffee shop or other public areas. Ensure they know in advance that they need to have a private, secure location where they will not be overheard, and their screens cannot be seen.
This also means shutting off any “smart” devices in the room where they’ll be located. Virtual assistants, security cameras, smartphones, and even baby monitors can be hacked and used to listen in on your meeting. Ask that participants shut these devices off if they’re in the same room.
Use Secure Networks
In addition to securing their room, participants should also make sure the network they’re using is fully secure. The network should require an ID and password authentication to log on and offer the highest possible encryption level. Nobody should ever log into a private meeting from a public Wi-Fi network.
Furthermore, all participants should ensure that the software they’re using is up to date. Please encourage them to check for updates several hours before the meeting so they have time to install the latest version. This will ensure that your software has all of the latest security measures.
Keep the Meeting Private
It should go without saying, but we’ll say it anyway:
- Ensure you set a unique meeting ID and strong password for your virtual meeting to prevent anyone from dropping in on you.
- Limit the people who know about the meeting to only those who need to attend.
- Discourage attendees from sharing information about the upcoming meeting with others.
Lock Your Meeting
Once everyone who is supposed to attend the meeting has logged on, and you’ve officially begun. You should be able to lock your session. This prevents hackers and pranksters from logging into your meeting uninvited. If you know everyone who needs to be there is already logged in, there’s no reason to keep that virtual door open to unauthorized attendees—lock it up.
Teleconferencing software is essential to many companies, especially at this time. And while it does open some potential security issues, if you follow proper protocol and the necessary security measures, you can reduce your risk of a security breach in these meetings. For further assistance in securing your networks, contact the Millennium Technology Group for IT consulting in Orlando.