Zoom Videoconferencing Best Practices

by Matthew Hilsenrad, Director of Disaster Recovery at Abacus Group.

As employees are working remotely more than ever, usage of collaboration tools has significantly increased. Zoom has been a leader in adoption by many for videoconferencing. As a result, they've also become a target for malicious attackers. There have been a number of Zoom vulnerabilities widely disclosed, one of which is a zero day exploit.

What can I do?

• Zoom has released a critical update that fixes a recent vulnerability regarding UNC (Universal Naming Convention) paths. We urge all Zoom users to accept this patch upgrade when prompted. Please note that if users don't accept the patch on the first attempt, it will be automatically applied the next time the application is launched.
• Ensure that you have the latest version of the application installed.
• Generate random meeting IDs.
• Password protect your meetings.
• Allow only signed-in users to join.
• Lock the meeting.
• Remove unwanted or disruptive participants.

Is there an alternative to Zoom?

An alternative to Zoom that Abacus offers is Microsoft Teams. Chat, call and collaborate from anywhere in Office 365's hub for teamwork. 

Abacus recognizes this is a challenging time with respect to addressing the risks and concerns around COVID-19. The best place to track up to date information on this pandemic is our FAQ page.

References:

• "How to Keep Uninvited Guests Our of Your Zoom Event"
• "Zoom: We're freezing all new features to sort out security and privacy"