Cyber Risks & Liabilities: How to Safely Use Video Conference Software and Safe Social Media Use

How to Safely Use Video Conference Software

The COVID-19 pandemic has led many organizations to rely on video conferencing technology to conduct meetings and stay connected. However, the increased use of video conferencing technology also means increased cyber risks. For example, cyberattackers who gain access to a conference room can:

• Listen in and gather confidential information to sell or exploit
• Disrupt the meeting with inappropriate materials
• Trick participants into clicking malicious links in the chat

The risk is even greater for organizations with employees working from home. As such, it’s important for organizations to take precautions. Consider the following tips for keeping your organization and employees safe while using video conferencing software:

• Require passwords—Secure meetings with passwords to protect against uninvited guests and keep information about the meeting secure. Require employees to log in before they join a meeting, especially for meetings where confidential information is being shared.
• Verify attendees—Double-check your attendees list before sending a meeting invitation, and review the list during the call.
• Be careful with meeting links—Share meeting links only with authorized personnel. Always make a new link for each meeting to discourage attackers from exploiting a reused link. Additionally, encourage employees to check the validity of incoming meeting links before clicking on them.
• Update software—Enable automatic updates on video conferencing software to ensure it is patched with the latest security updates. Turn on built-in security features that might be turned off by default.
• Educate staff—Keep employees updated on what the latest scams are, how to identify them and what they should do if they identify one.

As technology in the workplace increases, so does the need for good cybersecurity. Contact us today to learn how cyber insurance can protect you.

How Safe is your Social Media Use?

While social media can help organizations engage with customers and expand their reach, using it comes with potential risks that can result in costly recovery and lawsuits. These risks can range from minor damages to your brand image to major cyberattacks that target sensitive information. The following are some of the biggest risks associated with using social media, as well as tips to avoid them.

• Employees—User error, a lack of education and carelessness can all become incredibly costly when dealing with social media. For those reasons, it’s important to invest time in developing a social media policy that clearly outlines the purpose, procedures and expectations of appropriate social media use. Additionally, employees need to be educated on the importance of this policy, as well as the threats that social media poses and how to identify them.
• Scams and phishing attacks—Scams and phishing attacks are constant risks when dealing with social media, so be wary of any links that appear suspicious. Never disseminate secure information in a way other than it is intended to be shared by policy. Knowing how to identify suspicious links or web pages can be the difference between an incredibly costly mistake and a near miss.
• Unsecured mobile devices—Most social network access is through mobile devices. While some organizations may issue company-owned devices for this purpose, the organization’s social media accounts are most often accessed by the employees’ devices themselves. The fact that these devices travel everywhere with the employees makes them especially vulnerable to potentially unwanted or inappropriate access. As such, all mobile devices with social media access should be locked with a password when not in use.
• Inattentive use—Being inattentive to social media can bring its own risks. For example, a social media account that becomes hacked could start spreading harmful fraudulent messages or viruses, causing much more harm if it is not caught immediately. Keep a close eye on all social media accounts—even if you only created them to reserve your brand’s handle and don’t intend to use them in the near future—and be ready to act if one of them becomes compromised.
• Malware attacks and hacking—Even when exercising proper social media security tactics, there is always the possibility that your accounts will become compromised through sophisticated malware attacks and hacking. Invest in security technology to watch your social media accounts 24 hours a day, and have a person in charge who will be able to receive alerts and respond to them as soon as a problem is detected.

Contact CMB Insurance Brokers today to learn more about social media security.