Conference Apps: Tips for Ensuring Data Security

Understanding Conferencing App Security

As technology improves, so do hackers. Millions of people use conferencing apps daily to collaborate and hold virtual meetings. Unfortunately, unsecured conferencing platforms can allow unauthorized use of attendees' finances, intellectual property, personal information, and confidential discussions.

Holding a virtual conference using an unsecured app can put your company in danger of breaches that become costly to handle, and taking precautions to protect your company and network is critical in an age when hackers are becoming more sophisticated every day.

The top three security challenges you will face when using conferencing apps include hijacking by uninvited people or zoom bombing, privacy faults, and data leakage. 

Tips for Ensuring Data Security

To ensure the safety and security of your data while collaborating online, it is recommended to adopt a multi-layered approach. This way, you can protect your business and network from cyber threats. Before using conferencing apps for your business operations, it is essential to consider implementing these measures. 

Encryption practices

Any online collaboration tool worth using will include end-to-end encryption as standard, providing a safe conduit for communication while blocking access from other parties. By building an encrypted communication zone accessible only to invited parties, this technology guarantees that data stays confidential when it transits from one system to another.

With end-to-end encryption, all meetings, chats, and data sent are safe from prying eyes. These encrypted methods protect not just free speech but also the safety of guests in online meetings.

Protecting sensitive information from interception from start to finish, end-to-end encryption encrypts data at the sender's end and decrypts it at the recipient's. Although many providers offer end-to-end encryption, it is important to note that not all do. Therefore, to ensure secure communication, it is important to follow the below-mentioned steps:

• Select an appropriate encryption protocol, such as PGP, RSA, or AES
• Generate a pair of public and private keys for encryption and decryption
• Before the meeting, exchange your public key with the intended recipients
• Encrypt the data you intend to transmit using these keys
• Utilize only trusted and secure communication channels for data exchange
• Implement best practices in cybersecurity to fortify data integrity
• Opt for a reputable encryption service provider to bolster security measures
• Educate your team members on encryption principles and their significance in safeguarding sensitive information

User authentication

Strong user authentication is vital in online meetings to verify attendees' identities and prevent unwanted access. Strengthening security measures successfully requires the use of multi-factor authentication. At the bare minimum, consider the following.

• SMS and email authentication: Using SMS codes or email verification offers additional protection by having participants validate their identity with a one-time code given to the email or phone number they provided at registration
• Username and password authentication: To ensure that only authorized individuals can enter the meeting, it is recommended that a login and password combination be implemented as an additional layer of security

Multi-factor user authentication involves smart card readers, biometrics, and passwords or pins. While some may perceive user authentication as inconvenient, protecting everyone involved in your online meetings is necessary.

Meeting access controls

Learning how to use the controls offered by your conference app and ensuring training for all employees involved in virtual conference administration proves very beneficial. 

You should utilize waiting rooms to screen users before granting them access to the conference, limit access, and use password protection to ensure no one who has not been invited gets in. Carefully using these controls can prevent unexpected breaches, especially when combined with the other tips provided.

Regular software updates

Software providers use updates to protect against newly discovered threats because they zero in on security loopholes; however, the software becomes less protected if it is outdated. 

Unfortunately, software updates often go unimplemented. Therefore, it is vital to set up a consistent software update schedule. Set reminders and ensure all software is current before scheduling an online conference.

Secure file sharing

Most conferences involve file-sharing, which puts your business and all networking participants in danger of breaches. Hackers can intercept transferred files without proper precautions before reaching their intended destinations. To mitigate these risks, consider these best practices:

• Choose a pickup manager: Ensure that all shared files are handled securely by assigning a responsible individual or group to monitor them during the conference. This prevents sensitive data from falling into the wrong hands and guarantees responsibility
• Use multi-factor authentication: Enhance security measures by implementing multi-factor authentication before allowing access to resources or file-sharing platforms. With MFA, the chances of hackers getting illegal access are minimized
• Audit all access privileges: Regularly review user permissions and access levels to ensure only authorized users can view or share files
• Choose a secure file-sharing tool: Choose a trustworthy and safe provider for sharing files that puts data security first and follow industry standards

How to Implement Security Measures

Proper security measures are critical for protecting sensitive data and preventing issues that could render your business helpless to overcome. Consider the following step-by-step guide to get started.

• Set complicated meeting passwords
• Do not share the meeting link publicly
• Always use the waiting room feature
• Consider setting an alternative host
• Allow recordings only from the meeting host
• Disable the pre-host joining feature
• Limit screen-sharing permissions 
• Update the conference app before each use

Before hosting a conference, consider running a trial to identify any vulnerabilities in your security settings, and review and adjust your conferencing app controls for maximum security.

Common Challenges & Their Solutions

When the worldwide pandemic occurred, companies were forced to use virtual conferencing to conduct business. Unfortunately, most available platforms lacked cybersecurity features, making data loss and privacy breaches commonplace.

While the challenges remain, they have lessened as conferencing apps employ more secure service methods. The following are the challenges you may face and the solutions paramount for any business.

VOMIT 

Many businesses use VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) systems to let their employees work together virtually. Despite these benefits, there are still security risks, the most serious of which are voice-over misconfigured internet telephones (VOMIT). Hackers using this strategy can target unprotected VoIP systems to steal crucial data by intercepting voice packets.

To collect, eavesdrop, and even alter speech data transferred over the internet, VOMIT attacks vulnerabilities inside the networks, allowing hackers to steal sensitive communications, financial information, and personal details.

Luckily, companies can take preventative steps to lessen the impact of VOMIT assaults. Strong end-to-end encryption techniques are one example of such a measure. By starting the encryption process at the sender's end and ending it at the recipient's, end-to-end encryption guarantees that all communication between parties is safe and private.

Hijacked conversations

Zoombombing is common and involves uninvited parties' intrusive and disruptive entrance to an online conference. The best way to prevent hijacked conversations is to use the control settings on your conferencing app. 

• Do not use your personal meeting ID when hosting public meetings
• Always require attendee authentication
• Enable the waiting room feature
• Familiarize yourself with all the features and use them wisely

Data Leakage

Despite added security features, data leaks are still a common problem. The following steps are critical for data leak prevention.

• Close all unnecessary windows before screen sharing
• Use a reliable platform
• Set strong passwords and put protective policies in place
• Monitor and audit all conference sessions
• Educate all participants

Privacy shortcomings

No platform is perfect, and there can be deficiencies in protection. Privacy shortcomings include inadequate encryptions, mishandling of user data, and unauthorized access. Taking the following steps can protect against privacy shortcomings so your business and attendees are protected.

• Choose a reliable and secure platform
• Secure your meeting access
• Secure your network connections
• Manage your screen-sharing permissions
• Update your software regularly
• Always use secure backgrounds

Put These Tips Into Action Now

Data security measures begin well before scheduling your virtual conference. With the increased popularity of conferencing apps comes security challenges that require prompt intervention. You cannot rely on the app alone to provide complete protection, so you must evaluate your security practices to ensure your meetings are secure.

End-to-end encryption is critical for preventing the interception of your company's sensitive data. You must also use multi-factor authentication to verify each participant and ensure no uninvited parties gain access.

In addition, you must update your software regularly to ensure no security loopholes are present. Putting strict virtual conferencing guidelines in place is critical to controlling who has access and who can share files or screens.

With these practices in mind, choosing the best VoIP provider for your business is now possible by reading our reviews and using our comparison tool for comprehensive overviews. Additionally, check out our blog page for exclusive insights into the industry.

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