Securing Webex Meetings

Cisco Webex Meetings provides a secure environment yet it can be configured as an open place to collaborate. Understanding the security features will help you ensure your meetings meet the needs of participants and have an appropriate level of security.

As a host, you are the final decision maker concerning the security settings of your meeting. Always remember that you control nearly every aspect of the meeting, including when it begins and ends.

Follow the security best practices when scheduling the meeting, and during and after the meeting, based on your business needs for keeping meetings and information secure.

Securing your Scheduled Meeting

To enhance meeting security settings, hosts can opt not to list the meeting on the meeting calendar. To not list the meeting from the Schedule a Meeting page, unchecked Listed on public calendar to help prevent unauthorized access to the meeting and hide information about the meeting, such as its host, topic, and starting time.

Selecting Your Meeting Password

Utilize complex passwords or password nonsense phrases for meetings with sensitive content.

Do not reuse passwords for meetings. Scheduling meetings with the same passwords weakens meeting protection considerably.

Choose the Meeting Topic Carefully

A listed meeting or a forwarded invitation email could, at a minimum, reveal the meeting titles to unintended audiences. Meeting titles can unintentionally reveal private information, so ensure that titles are carefully worded to minimize exposure of sensitive data, such as company names or events.

Use Entry or Exit Tone or Announce Name Feature

Using this feature prevents someone from joining the audio portion of your meeting without your knowledge. This feature is enabled by default for Webex Meetings and Webex Training.

• Preferences > Audio and Video, and in the Entry and exit tone section, select a tone option from the drop-down list.
  While scheduling your meeting in Modern View, select Show advanced options > Audio connection options, and in the Entry and exit tone section, select a tone option from the drop-down list.

Request That Invitations Are Not Forwarded

Request that your invitees do not forward the invitation further, especially for confidential meetings.

Assign an Alternate Host

Assign an alternate host to start and control the meeting. This practice keeps meetings more secure by eliminating the possibility that the host role is assigned to an unexpected, or unauthorized, attendee, in case you inadvertently lose your connection to the meeting.

Restrict Access to the Meeting

Lock the meeting once all attendees have joined the meeting. This practice prevents more attendees from joining. Hosts can lock or unlock the meeting at any time while the session is in progress. To lock a meeting that you're currently hosting, select Meeting > Lock Meeting.

This option prevents anyone from joining the meeting, including participants who have been invited to the meeting but have not yet joined it. To unlock a meeting that you're currently hosting, select Meeting > Unlock Meeting.

Validate Identity of All Users in a Call

Accounting for every attendee by using a roll call is a secure practice. Ask users to turn on their video or state their name to confirm their identity.

To attend a meeting using a phone, a caller only needs a valid Webex dial-in number and the nine-digit meeting ID. If attendees can join meetings on your site by phone without a password, they will not be prevented from joining the audio conference portion of the meeting.

If attendees without an account are allowed to join the meeting, then unauthorized users can identify themselves with any name in your meeting.

Remove a Participant from the Meeting

Participants can be expelled at any time during a meeting. Select the name of the participant whom you want to remove, then select Participant > Expel.

Share Application, Not Screen

Use Share > Application > instead of Share > My Screen to share specific applications and prevent accidental exposure of sensitive information on your screen.

Delete Recordings

Delete recordings after they are no longer relevant.

Go to Recordings. Click the More button on the recording to delete, and then select Delete. Click Delete.