6 Ways to Secure Your Zoom Online Meetings

6 Ways to Secure Your Zoom Online Meetings

As one of the most popular video conferencing solutions in the world, Zoom ensures their solutions comes with enterprise-grade security and compliance features to protect their customers’ data from unauthorized access and malicious attacks. However, are you and your organisation ensuring Zoom is safe by fully utilising these Zoom’s security features below? 

 

#1 TURN ON TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION (2FA)

#2 REQUIRE MEETINGS TO HAVE ONE SECURITY OPTION

#3. SECURE ZOOM MEETING AND WEBINAR WITH A PASSCODE

#4. ALLOW AUTHENTICATED PARTICIPANTS ONLY

#5. ENABLE “WAITING ROOM” OPTION

#6. TURN ON END-TO-END ENCRYPTION (E2EE) OPTION

#1.  TURN ON TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION (2FA)

Zoom’s Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) offers an extra layer of security to a Zoom account and is available for all Zoom plans, including Zoom for Business. When 2FA is enabled, users will be asked to confirm their identity with a code sent to their mobile device or an authentication app. This code is required in addition to passwords when signing in. 

How To:

To enable 2FA, all you need to do is log in to the  Zoom web portal and go to Settings if you are an Admin or to Profile if you are a standard user and look for Two-factor Authentication. A more detailed guide on setting up 2FA can be found at the Zoom Support page: Managing two-factor authentication (2FA). 

Image 1: Enabling 2FA in Zoom

#2. REQUIRE MEETINGS TO HAVE ONE SECURITY OPTION

Enabling this features requires a meeting to be secured with at least one of the following security options: a Passcode, Only Authenticated Users Can Join Meetings or Waiting Room. These security options give Zoom meetings additional protection and privacy and prevent uninvited guests. If this feature is not enabled, Zoom will automatically secure all meetings in Waiting Room. 

How To:

By default, this feature is enabled for Single Licensed user, Pro accounts with 2 or more licenses and Business accounts with 10-100 licenses. For other account types, please read more at Zoom Support: Requiring meetings to have one security option for the prerequisites and setup. 

#3. SECURE ZOOM MEETING AND WEBINAR WITH A PASSCODE

Meeting passcodes are enforced for all free accounts and selected account types. However, Account Owners and Admins should check their passcodes’ additional settings to maximize their Zoom meeting security. The additional settings include enabling and locking passcode requirements for users in your organization and setting passcode complexity requirements. 

How To:

To check and edit passcode settings, log in Zoom web portal and go to the “Security” section under the “Meeting” tab. If you are an admin setting this up, make sure you have permission to edit account settings and go to the “Security” section under “Account Management>Account Settings”. Read the complete guide on managing passcodes at Zoom Support: Zoom Meeting and Webinar passcodes page. 

Image 2: Enabling & inserting Passcode for Zoom Meetings

#4. ALLOW AUTHENTICATED PARTICIPANTS ONLY

Enabling the option “Only authenticated users can join meetings” requires meeting or webinar attendees to sign in to their Zoom account before they can join a Zoom meeting. This Zoom meeting security option prevents anonymous unverified users from joining a meeting or webinar. 

How To:

Depending on your Zoom plan and access level (admin or user), this security feature can be enabled at Zoom’s web portal or when setting up a meeting. Read more at Zoom Support page: Allowing only authenticated users in meetings to know how to enable this setting on your Zoom account. 

This option can also be paired with the “Waiting Room” for a layer of security and user verification by the Host. 

#5. ENABLE “WAITING ROOM” OPTION

Enabling the “Waiting Room” feature puts participants in a Waiting Room before fully entering the meeting. The Host will need to admit participants for them to join the meeting. This option is available for all Zoom accounts and is highly recommended if “Allow Authenticated Participants Only” is unavailable in your settings.

How to:

You can enable the “Waiting Room” option when scheduling a meeting, as shown above, and also during a meeting. Do note that “Waiting Room” is not supported for Webinars. Visit the Zoom Support Page on “Using Waiting Room” for more details on fully utilizing this feature. 

Image 3: Enabling Waiting Room for Zoom Meetings

#6. TURN ON END-TO-END ENCRYPTION (E2EE) OPTION

Enabling Zoom’s End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) security option makes a meeting more secure and harder for cybercriminals to “eavesdrop” even if they had infiltrated Zoom’s servers. It works by using public key cryptography that is generated by participants’ machines and not by Zoom’s servers. This means that only the E2EE meeting participants have access to the meeting contents because Zoom doesn’t have the encryption keys to decrypt the meeting, although it is relayed through their servers. 

We recommend enabling E2EE encryption for meetings that contain highly sensitive information such as credit card details, trade secrets, and intellectual property. This feature is available for all accounts. 

How to: 

To enable this feature, you will have to sign in to the Zoom web portal as an account owner or an admin and toggle on “Allow use of end-to-end encryption” under the Meeting tab. When scheduling a meeting, you can then pick which encryption type you would like to use, Zoom’s default enhanced encryption or E2EE.

By enabling E2EE for meetings, all meeting participants are required to join from the Zoom desktop client, mobile app, or Zoom Rooms. This also disables certain Zoom meeting features, such as cloud recording and breakout rooms. More information on how to set up E2EE meetings and what functions are disabled can be found at Zoom Support: E2EE encryption for meetings.  

Image 4: Turning on “Allow use of end-to-end encryption” for meetings

OTHER ZOOM SECURITY FEATURES

Below are other Zoom Security Features to know about:

  • Turn off or limit file sharing on Zoom Chat

Image 5: Turn off or limit file sharing on Zoom

  • Limit screen sharing to single or multiple participants

Image 6: Update settings to limit screen sharing in meetings

  • Disable private chat
  • Lock meetings once all participants have joined the meeting
  • Watermarking to protect intellectual property

Image 7: Toggle on “Add watermark” feature and configure watermark settings

  • Allow/Disallow participants to join anytime
  • Approve or block entry for users from specific countries/regions

To learn more about updating your Zoom’s meeting settings and security features, you can visit Zoom Support: Changing your meeting settings page. 

BEST PRACTICES WHEN USING ZOOM FOR YOUR BUSINESS

On top of fully utilising the security features mentioned above to minimize Zoom security risk, users and organizations should also adopt some of these Zoom best practices:

  • Minimise using your Personal Meeting ID (PMI) room for meetings and ensure “Waiting Room” feature is turned on.
  • Keep 2FA Back-up Codes on your personal device or have it printed out. 
  • Do not share meeting links publicly.
  • Use the right Zoom solution for your need. 
  • Double check Zoom Meeting or Webinar settings before sharing the link or sending the invitation out.

With the above information, you are now better prepared to make Zoom a safe and secure place to conduct your online meetings within your organization and with your clients. 

AceTeam is your solutions specialist for all things Zoom. We’ve got you covered from end-to-end, from onboarding guidance to room design and everything in between. As the authorized reseller in Malaysia, click here to get in touch with us to know which Zoom plan works best for your business needs. You can also contact us at acemarketing@aceteamnetworks.com.

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