You may be at risk of a cyberattack! Help further secure your video conferencing calls with these tips.
Whether you use video conferencing software as part of a class or for business, it’s essential to know that there’s a chance you’re at risk for a cyberattack. These kinds of attacks are increasingly common on college campuses across the entire country as well as in the commercial sector. For millions of people, there’s not a workday that goes by without a conference call. Luckily, there are options to reduce your attack surface and make your experience a safer one.
Update, Update, Update!
The number one thing you’ll want to do is update your program, especially if you have yet to do so recently. According to The Daily, “Over 30% of all companies surveyed claimed that they experienced at least one attack against their conferencing software in 2021, and it’s likely that many of them were using outdated versions of their preferred chat applications.”
Password Hygiene
Password hygiene is another critical aspect of videoconferencing safety. Cybercriminals are always looking for ways around your organization’s security measures. And one of the easiest ways they can do that is by guessing or cracking your weak password!
Here are some startling statistics: The average person reuses each password 14 times! And an estimated 49% of employees only add a digit or change a character in their password when required to update it!
Make sure to set a strong password and change it regularly. Here are some tips to help you create an even stronger password:
- Don’t create passwords using information that can be easily found online, like pet names, addresses, or important dates.
- The absolute minimum length is eight characters, but 16 or 20 characters are even more secure.
- Use a Passphrase.
Biometrics vs. Passwords vs. Passphrases
Biometric controls may appear more secure than passwords, but video conferencing programs are always capturing an image of your face. So, if your account does become compromised, then attackers already have an image to unlock it. Therefore, setting a more robust password – or creating a passphrase – is highly recommended.
Are you familiar with passphrases? They’re basically a more secure form of a password. Passphrases are sentence-like words that are easy to remember but difficult to crack. For example, “giraffe-banana-4200-pete” or a few nonsense words. For more information on passwords versus passphrases, check out this NordVPN article.
To Share or Not to Share?
Additionally, keep your password or passphrase to yourself, no matter how trustworthy someone might seem. Computer security expert Hari Ravichandran once told NPR interviewers that he advises “against all forms of password sharing, even for applications not tied to conferencing software.”
Conclusion
For many people working in the educational or commercial sector, there’s not a day that goes by without a video conference call. A lot of imperative business is handled this way. But that also makes it a target for hackers.
Stay protected by updating your program, creating a strong password or passphrase, and never sharing your information. With these tips, your video conferencing calls can be even more secure.
(2023, September 06). Iulia Popescu – Coordinator, Digital Content, Avixa. Retrieved from https://xchange.avixa.org/posts/guard-yourself-against-video-conferencing-cyberattacks?channel_id=conferencing-collaboration
