As the pandemic keeps us in our homes, more and more businesses are turning to virtual conferencing systems to continue their work. But are they secure enough to protect your private information? As our Founder and CEO, Adam Stern says, “In a perfect world, video conferencing systems would be entirely peer-to-peer.” But that’s not the world we live in.
Online conferencing systems utilize remote servers to house and route data between users. This eliminates the possibility of a closed-loop network and opens up your sensitive data to hackers and breaches. This is not to say that online video and phone conferencing platforms are unsafe – just that they are proving to be more susceptible to unwanted interference than was previously thought.
The number of users engaged with these video systems has increased exponentially – and so have security breaches. Stories of intrusive acts continue to emerge, from images not suitable for work appearing in virtual conference rooms during business meetings to unsolicited parties listening in on calls.
We know that right now these platforms are essential in order for business communications to continue. But what can you do to make your virtual communications safer and eliminate or at least greatly reduce the risk of cybersecurity attacks?
Unless you are able to save your recorded call locally, it is best to refrain from recording altogether. When you record your video conference or phone conversation via a virtual conferencing platform, it is saved to one of the platform’s remote servers. This means that it can potentially be downloaded at a later date, which may violate regulation restrictions.
If you need to share sensitive information, send an encrypted .zip file through email rather than file-sharing through the platform itself. Create whatever type of file you prefer (.docx, .pdf, etc.) and then compress it into a .zip file to attach to the email. This ensures that your confidential data will be secure and protected.
Sometimes unknown or undesirable users find their way into teleconferencing rooms. To avoid this, consider utilizing a “Waiting Room.” This allows you (or whoever is running the meeting) to monitor users who would like to join the meeting and to control who has access to the room.
Another way to create a safer virtual conference environment is to enable password protection. A phenomenon known as “bombing” has seen an upturn since the pandemic, in part due to the massive increase in users. This unwanted intrusion into conferences can be avoided with a password that you use to enter the room, as well as passcodes that you give only to wanted parties.
Many useful features are available on virtual conferencing platforms, but they may not be practical for business use. For heavily regulated industries such as healthcare and finance, disabling extraneous applications such as link or file sharing reduces the risk of leaks.
Certain conferencing platforms simply do not reach compliance standards outside of these unprecedented times. While they may be necessary and convenient now, it is important to remember that they should be handled with care so as to mitigate and additional risk to sensitive data. For more on this topic, Infinitely Virtual Founder and CEO, Adam Stern, was recently covered in Forbes discussing common objections to remote work, the impact of the pandemic on business continuity.
Infinitely Virtual values your privacy. That’s why we have built our world-class Enterprise Virtualization Environment to support your business’ growth and long-term success. With 100% uptime and total data protection, you can be sure that your apps and information are available to you – and only you – when and where you need it. Contact us today at 1.866.257.8455 to learn how we can help you build a better future for your business.
