Greetings Faculty & Staff,
As we face the COVID-19 challenges, the Information Security Office would like to remind you of the importance of security best practices related to Zoom Video Conferencing. In recent days, Zoom has been in the news media for having a number of security flaws (e.g. Zoom-Bombed, privacy issues) that have interrupted millions of users. We understand that we must continue to give our students the best academic experience. Some of you may be using Zoom, or other digital tools, to directly communicate with your students. We do not discourage anyone from using Zoom if they are comfortable with the technology. We have provided some best practices information below to help you protect yourself, and your meeting attendees, against malicious activity when using Zoom.
In addition, we would like to remind you that the recommended and supported platform for all college business collaboration is Microsoft Teams. All STC faculty, staff and students have access to Microsoft Teams via Office 365 online. Information Technology has published information on how to start using Microsoft Teams at the following link: https://isp.southtexascollege.edu/it-faqs/
Best Practices for Zoom Video Conferencing
You should be aware of the following best practices for configurations and settings when using the Zoom Video Conferencing Platform.
- Lock meetings once everyone has joined. This will prevent unauthorized users from gaining entry while the call is in session.
- After locking the meeting, review the list of participants and expel any unknown participants before beginning to share your content.
- Expel disruptive individuals from your meeting.
- Disable “Allow Removed Participants to Rejoin” so expelled attendees can’t slip back in.
- Disable participants ability to record the meeting.
- Disable participant screen sharing or file sharing. This will prevent your meeting from being hijacked by others and allowing the sharing of inappropriate content.
- Disable the Chat feature prior to the meeting.
- Put all attendees in mute mode and suspend privileges for participants to unmute themselves.
- Pin or Spotlight Speaker Video: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362743-Pin-Video.
- Pinning a video allows you to disable active speaker view and only view a specific speaker.
- Alternatively, you can spotlight a video. Spotlight video puts a participant as the primary active speaker for all participants. All participants will only see this speaker as the active speaker. These features will keep others from seeing an intruder’s screen or background.
- Consider not publishing the link on public websites or calendars, rather email the link to the desired attendees.
- Consider requiring a password to join the meeting. Distribute password separately via email to attendees.
Stay safe and thank you for all you have done and helping protect the privacy of our college and our data. For any questions or concerns please email or give us a call.
Regards,
Information Security Office
infosec@southtexascollege.edu
956-872-2235