Everything that requires an internet connection is open to being hacked, and web conferencing software is no different. From hijacking web meetings to breaching recording sessions, there are plenty of ways web criminals can exploit a company.
The good news is that web conferencing software providers do their best to maintain everyone’s safety by introducing various security features. It's very common for providers to protect connections through the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. However, SSL only protects data while it’s traveling from your computer to the company's servers. That's why some web conferencing platforms go a step further by applying AES – an algorithm that encrypts the information for data storage. In other words, while SSL protects data from being eavesdropped on while it’s in transit, AES secures information at the provider's servers, ensuring no one is able to access it – not even the web conferencing provider.
For organizations that need to be Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant, using web conferencing software that applies AES is required since this is the only way to ensure that information stays confidential and away from malicious eyes at all times. And for companies that do business with European costumers and therefore need to be GDPR compliant, there are several options on the market to help with this too.
While it's not necessary to run web meetings with end-to-end encryption, companies have to ensure that the customer has all the information regarding how you handle their private data. To achieve this, web conferencing platforms have implemented measures that enable administrators to tweak a meeting’s privacy settings. One of the many examples is having a message pop-up asking for permission from all participants when someone hits the recording button. Only if they all accept will the meeting be recorded.
Besides all of this, there are a few in-meeting features to ensure participant security. The ability to lock meetings after they’ve started is one example. By enabling this option, you'll stop anyone who’s trying to access the session, leaving any unwelcome visitors at bay. Moreover, all meetings can – and should – be password protected to ensure that an unintended guest coming across the meeting link can’t just click on it and join the session.
If you still don’t feel entirely secure, there are other pieces of software that you can use for extra protection. VPNs, for example, ensure that your connection is encrypted end to end no matter what. Another essential piece of software to have if you’re attending a hosted meeting is an antivirus or an internet suite. Using these, if anyone on the call even unknowingly shares an infected document, your device will be protected.