Video conferencing has been an essential part of doing business for the past year and counting, first when employees around the world were required to work from home and now, as many employees choose to continue working remotely.
The ability to connect employees virtually is what kept many companies afloat as the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact how and where we work. But it didn’t come without some new risks and concerns.
Zoom, a cloud-based conferencing platform that took on the bulk of remote meetings, has faced numerous security breaches, including unauthorized data sharing, video call records that were searchable and viewable on the web, and meetings that were easily hacked with inappropriate content. Some security vulnerabilities extended to third-party hardware devices as well.
With or without a global pandemic, it is impossible to give up video conferencing and succeed in the modern workplace. So, companies have to ensure their software solutions and hardware devices are as secure as possible. Keep reading to learn what PSNI preferred vendor partners are doing—and what they recommend—to keep video conferencing safe and secure.
Addressing Video Conferencing Security
While promises of encrypted communication on platforms like Zoom have fallen short so far (for now encryption will only be available for paid users of the Zoom platform), Barco is doing everything they can to make sure users have encrypted and authenticated communications between their PCs and video conferencing hardware while they are using Barco’s ClickShare Conference.
ClickShare Conference connects wirelessly to your meeting room equipment and can turn even small huddle spaces into immersive video conferencing experiences with video input, touchscreen interactivity, and more.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that there is a secure wireless connection between the CX button/application and the CX base unit, which prevents the possibility of being compromised in a peer to peer or network capacity,” said Ying Khang, Barco America’s Marketing Director.
For Biamp, a leading AV equipment provider, the rule of thumb is this: security for AV devices should be comparable to the security of other devices on the network.
“One technique is to use the best security practices of other common network devices, such as printers, routers, and switches, as guidance for identifying the security requirements and capabilities that should be included in the scope of AV devices and how they participate in the network,” said Tim Koskamp, lead PSNI field sales engineer at Biamp. “Biamp takes security very seriously and our solutions include built-in features to ensure the integrity of AV streams.”
Both Barco and Biamp agree that video conferencing security is an ongoing process, not a one-and-done fix.
Barco addresses emerging and changing security needs through regular updates to their products.
“Barco ClickShare products are designed with safety, privacy, and confidentiality in mind. To keep our solutions at minimal vulnerability, we implement necessary fixes and advanced features with every quarterly release,” said Khang. “ClickShare is ISO27001 certified, ensuring we handle both data and security within the aspects of an industry standard process.”
Biamp works to meet and exceed customers’ security needs through regular monitoring and system maintenance.
“SageVue, our browser-based management platform, enables technology managers to review system status and maintain Biamp devices, and its RESTful API allows it to be integrated with third party network monitoring applications,” Koskamp said.
Communicate Safely with the Right AV Manufacturer Partner
Choosing the right manufacturer partner is the final piece of the video conferencing security puzzle.
“Keep these factors in mind when deciding upon a new tech solution for your workplace. What processes, certifications, and guidelines does the manufacturer have in place to ensure your data safety?” said Khang.
Barco, for example, has a Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) that continuously monitors privacy and security risks and drives security improvements to ensure ClickShare maintains its earned reputation as one of the most trusted wireless collaboration tools in the market.
According to Koskamp, Biamp uses technologies like 802.1X, SSH, and TLS to ensure their end-to-end solutions meet and hopefully exceed clients’ needs for network security.
Are you looking for the right manufacturer partner to help make your video conferencing safe and secure? Learn more about PSNI Preferred Vendor Partners today.
