Video conferencing, a concept only recently made possible, is changing how business communications are handled. The software suites afford businesses huge convenience, cost savings, and growth opportunities. The vast majority of businesses are already on board with video conferencing technology, but some are still worried that the technology is not secure enough to use in conjunction with sensitive information or valuable files. Especially since most high quality video conferencing suites, such as Blue Jeans, are cloud-based, they feel that hackers could breach the software’s defenses and gain access to the data. The following list summarizes some of the biggest reasons this is not actually the case. Hopefully it will convert some of the skeptics out there and even reassure some of the people already benefitting from video conferencing platforms.
Via wikipedia.org
- You’ve Got the Law on Your Side – Taking significant security precautions is not something that video conferencing providers only do to greaten customer satisfaction – in fact, it’s the law. Ever since the September 11 attacks the NSA has mandated that many established organizations must have strong security put in place. This is one of the reasons that legitimate video conferencing software has several redundant levels of encryption put in place, among other extreme security measures.
- 128-Bit Goodness – These days, pretty much all video conferencing services use 128-bit encryption to protect the streaming video meetings and the files exchanged during those meetings from hackers. 128-bit encryption basically assigns your data a password that consists of 128 random digits and that has to be guessed to access the data. The people you authorize to access the data are given the code automatically, but hackers cannot possibly guess it. This is because a random string of 128 numbers has so many possible combinations that it would take even a super-computer 10 billion years to guess. (Note that the known universe is currently around 14 billion years old.)
- Physical Encryption Keys – Many video conferencing companies provide users with physical keys or cards that must be inserted into the video conferencing hardware before multiple layers of absolutely impenetrable encryption are lifted. Quality video conferencing providers let you exchange the key whenever you want, too, as an added security measure.
- Lock Down Your Data – Even once your secured meeting takes place, all of the video of the meeting and any files exchanged are archived for your future reference. Video conferencing businesses realize that keeping that sensitive business meeting information on a regular desktop or even on an external hard drive might not be safe. Because of this, reputable video conferencing companies offer their customers digital storage facilities protected by military-grade security technology.
What You Can Do
Video conferencing providers can do a lot to ensure your data is secure, but you also have to take some measures to make sure it is as safe as it can be. Some of these measures include:
- Use a Firewall – It is never a good idea to put sensitive information directly on the internet, because that allows hackers to find it easily. This includes video conferencing. Instead, set up a strong firewall and put your video conferencing software behind it. It may take a few more minutes, but it is worth it if you are worried about security.
- Turn Off Auto-Answer – Mike Tuchen, a video conferencing security expert, says that one of the biggest threats to video conferencing security is when people put their software on auto-answer. “It’s like if you bought a conference phone,” he explains, “and whenever anyone dialed the number it automatically picked it up and turned the phone on. There’s not a phone company in the world that would do that, but for a video conferencing company, they decided to do that, because video conferencing systems are more complex.”
- Unplug When You’re Done – One prospect that worries some video conferencing users is that their systems will be hacked and their webcams will be used to spy on the office even when they are not supposed to be on. This can be very easily prevented by putting a cover over the camera’s lens when not using it or, even more effective, unplugging the system.
- Don’t Turn off Encryption– For the love of all that is good, do not work against yourself by disabling any of the encryption methods put in place by the video conferencing software. Ways to disable the much-needed encryption include:
- Using outdated video systems or software.
- Using shoddy security services in an attempt to beef up security.
- Connecting to third-party devices that don’t support encryption.
- Actually going into the system settings and manually turning off encryption.
The bottom line is that, while the user can mess with the security and leave it lacking in many ways, the security measures put into place by video conferencing services are actually very good. Especially when it comes to top-tier products like Blue Jeans secure video conference software, customer security is a primary concern.
from Darlene Milligan http://ift.tt/1gh6uYe via Transformational marketing
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