While we are all using Teams for work-related meetings, some of us may be using Zoom outside work, to catch up with friends and family. Find out how to prevent your Zoom meeting being gate-crashed.
Video conferencing solutions for work
As you know, we are expected to use Microsoft Teams for all internal University of Aberdeen meetings, and also for hosting meetings involving external participants. And the solution for hosting online tutorials and meetings with students isBlackboard and Collaborate Ultra. See our Working from Home guidance.
Video conferencing solutions outside work
Outside of work, when it comes to catching up with friends and family online, we each have our own preferred solution. For many of us, that solution is Zoom – it’s easy to use, accessible on any device, and free (although subscription plans are also available).
However, as with all video conferencing solutions, it’s important to be aware of potential security risks and how to overcome them.
Zoombombing – what it is, and how to protect yourself
There have been a number of news reports recently about the increase in Zoombombing. This is when a Zoom meeting is gate-crashed by individuals whose sole intent is to cause disruption and distress – for example, by displaying indecent, potentially illegal imagery to other participants.
Luckily, there are a number of steps you – as meeting host – can take to minimise the risk of your next Zoom meeting being bombed.1
- Make sure that Meeting Passwords are required to join your meeting, and that they are not published in an uncontrolled manner.
- Don’t use social media to share meeting ID/links as malicious groups search social media for these.
- Use the Waiting Room feature so that participants have to wait until you admit them to the meeting.
- Limit screen-sharing ability to the host. Use the host controls at the bottom of the meeting window.
- Turn off file transfer to prevent the chat getting bombarded with unsolicited pics, GIFs, memes and other content.
- Disable private chat to prevent a participant from receiving unwanted messages during the meeting.
- Allow only signed-in/Registered users to join. This means if someone tries to join your meeting and isn’t logged into a Zoom account, they will receive the message ‘This meeting is for authorised attendees only’.
Find out more about keeping uninvited guests out of your meeting on the Zoom blog.
If you would like additional advice, please contact the University’s IT Security Team at servicedesk@abdn.ac.uk.
Author: DDIS Security Team