The Security Features You Need to Know About on Zoom

As one of the most widely used platforms for virtual meetings, webinars, and online collaboration, Zoom places a strong emphasis on ensuring the security and privacy of its users. Given the increase in online meetings, it’s important for users to be aware of the security features Zoom offers to safeguard both personal and organizational data. Below is a comprehensive overview of the key security features you should know about on Zoom to ensure your virtual meetings are safe and secure.

1. Meeting Passwords

• What it is: Password protection for meetings is one of the most basic yet essential security features. When enabled, participants must enter a password to join the meeting, ensuring that only invited users can attend.
• How to use it: Meeting passwords can be set up when scheduling a meeting or webinar. The password can be embedded in the invitation link, making it easy for participants to join.
• Why it’s important: It prevents unauthorized users from joining your meetings, reducing the risk of “Zoom-bombing” (uninvited guests disrupting your meeting).

2. Waiting Room

• What it is: The Waiting Room feature places participants in a virtual queue before they are allowed to join the meeting. As the host, you have control over who can enter the meeting by manually admitting participants.
• How to use it: This feature can be enabled when scheduling a meeting or turned on during the meeting itself under the Security menu.
• Why it’s important: The Waiting Room helps you screen participants before they join, ensuring that only those who are supposed to be in the meeting can enter.

3. Meeting Lock

• What it is: The Lock Meeting feature allows the host to lock a meeting after it has started. Once the meeting is locked, no one else can join, even if they have the meeting link or password.
• How to use it: After the meeting has started, click on Security and select Lock Meeting.
• Why it’s important: This feature is useful for preventing unwanted participants from joining after the meeting has started. It’s especially valuable for meetings where all the attendees are known, and no further participants are expected.

4. Screen Sharing Controls

• What it is: Zoom allows hosts to control who can share their screen during a meeting. By default, anyone can share, but you can limit it to the host or specific participants.
• How to use it: To restrict screen sharing, click on Security during the meeting and select Only Host under the Who can share? option.
• Why it’s important: Restricting screen sharing helps prevent unauthorized individuals from showing unwanted content or disrupting the flow of the meeting. It also ensures that the focus stays on the presenter’s content.

5. Participant Management

• What it is: As a host, you have the ability to manage participants by muting/unmuting them, removing participants, or disabling their video/audio capabilities during the meeting.
• How to use it: During the meeting, you can click on Participants to see a list of all attendees and select the options to mute, remove, or disable video for specific participants.
• Why it’s important: This feature is helpful to maintain control over disruptive attendees or to protect the privacy of others. It also allows you to prevent someone from unmuting themselves or displaying inappropriate content during the meeting.

6. End-to-End Encryption (E2EE)

• What it is: Zoom offers End-to-End Encryption for all meetings, providing a higher level of security by encrypting audio, video, and screen sharing content during the meeting. This means that the meeting data is only accessible to the host and participants, and not even Zoom has access to it.
• How to use it: End-to-End Encryption can be enabled when scheduling a meeting. It must be activated in your Account Settings under Settings > Meeting > Security.
• Why it’s important: This feature is vital for ensuring that the contents of your meeting are kept private and secure from unauthorized third-party access. It’s particularly useful for confidential discussions or sensitive information.

7. Authentication Profiles

• What it is: Zoom allows hosts to restrict meeting access to specific groups by enabling authentication profiles. You can require participants to sign in with a Zoom account or authenticate through a third-party provider (like Google or Facebook).
• How to use it: Enable authentication in your Account Settings under Security and select whether you want to require authentication by Zoom users or external platforms.
• Why it’s important: Authentication profiles add an extra layer of security, ensuring only authorized individuals can join the meeting.

8. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

• What it is: Two-Factor Authentication adds an extra layer of protection to your Zoom account by requiring users to enter a second verification step in addition to their password.
• How to use it: To enable 2FA, go to your Account Settings > Profile > Two-Factor Authentication and follow the prompts to link your account to an authentication method (like SMS or an authenticator app).
• Why it’s important: With 2FA enabled, even if someone obtains your password, they cannot access your Zoom account without the second factor, making it much harder for hackers to compromise your account.

9. Zoom Webinars Security Features

• What it is: Webinars come with additional security features to protect both the host and the participants. Features like attendee registration, waiting rooms, and Q&A moderation ensure that only authorized users participate, and the session is controlled.
• How to use it: When scheduling a webinar, enable registration (required for attendees to sign up) and set up a waiting room. Additionally, you can moderate the Q&A feature to approve questions before they are shown to the audience.
• Why it’s important: These features ensure that webinar attendees are verified and that inappropriate content is filtered out during the event.

10. Zoom Security Dashboard (for Admins)

• What it is: The Security Dashboard allows Zoom admins to monitor activity within their organization. Admins can view reports on meeting security, including the presence of unauthorized participants, data encryption status, and whether meetings are being locked or not.
• How to use it: Admins can access the Security Dashboard in the Zoom web portal under Account Management > Reports > Security Dashboard.
• Why it’s important: This dashboard helps organizations maintain oversight of their Zoom meetings, detect any suspicious activity, and ensure best practices are being followed to secure the meetings.

11. Recording Controls and Permissions

• What it is: Zoom offers the ability to control how meetings are recorded, including restricting who can record, where recordings are stored, and how they are shared.
• How to use it: In your Settings under the Recording section, you can set permissions for who can record the meeting (host only or participants) and whether the recording is saved to the cloud or locally.
• Why it’s important: These controls help prevent sensitive meeting content from being recorded without permission and ensure that any recording is stored securely.

12. Automatic Updates

• What it is: Zoom frequently releases security updates to address potential vulnerabilities and improve platform security. Enabling automatic updates ensures that your Zoom client is always up to date with the latest security patches.
• How to use it: In your Zoom desktop client, ensure that Automatic Updates are enabled by going to Settings > General > Automatically keep Zoom desktop client up to date.
• Why it’s important: Keeping your Zoom software up to date is essential for staying protected from known vulnerabilities and ensuring the platform remains secure.

Conclusion

Zoom offers a variety of powerful security features to help ensure that your meetings, webinars, and virtual events are secure and protected from unauthorized access or disruption. By understanding and utilizing these features—such as meeting passwords, waiting rooms, encryption, authentication, and more—you can safeguard your virtual interactions and ensure a safer and more professional experience for all participants. Regularly reviewing your security settings and keeping your Zoom client up to date is essential in maintaining a secure online environment.