Nation-state attacks are a growing threat to video conferencing

Zerify announced the findings of a survey that indicate that IT professionals are becoming increasingly concerned about the growing number of cyber threats and foreign attacks capable of impacting video conferencing.

The survey, executed by Propeller Insights in July of 2022, involved 1,000 IT professionals – most of whom are at the director or C-Level (83.8%).

With the White House’s executive order on improving the nation’s cybersecurity, video conferencing still has not been given the specific, individualized focus it deserves despite a notable increase in virtual meetings among remote and hybrid workers across critical industries. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) developed guidelines to ensure security in video conferencing that are in accordance with the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) recommendations.

NIST developed a framework for zero trust architecture that should be considered for video conferencing. This is something that’s especially important to George Waller, EVP of Zerify, who explains that zero trust in video conferencing involves important steps to elevate security, such as locking down microphones and speakers, and authorizing and authenticating every single user prior to entering a specific conference.

His own early concerns and forethought about video conferencing security – and his desire to implement specific preventative measures – were mirrored by 97% of survey respondents who said they would want to know about a solution for enhanced video conferencing security.

Video conferencing cyber threats

• 97% of respondents said they were concerned about protecting privacy and video conferencing data
• 92% reported that they are aware of security vulnerabilities in video conferencing platforms
• Nation-state cyber threats have increased at most (81.8%) companies
• 89% of IT professionals are concerned about foreign attacks as they see a rise in threats
• 79% of respondents reported that they were very knowledgeable about the concept and framework of zero trust cybersecurity, with 86% stating that their company had zero trust cybersecurity policies. Zero trust is a “strategic approach to cybersecurity that secures an organization by eliminating implicit trust and continuously validating every stage of a digital interaction.”
• 69% believe cyber attackers could breach their video conferencing platforms and 84% stated that if they were breached, they believed attackers could steal intellectual property, sensitive company data and trade secrets.

“The results of this survey indicate broad awareness of zero trust cybersecurity among IT professionals, and underscore the need for video conferencing platforms to guarantee that same level of privacy and protection of proprietary data,” said Waller.

“Collaborative communications is an area of heightened vulnerability as more work is conducted remotely. Video conferencing threats are increasing and decision-makers are concerned about nation-state threats as these platforms can be compromised by attackers trying to steal IP information and other valuable data. The increase in foreign attacks exacerbates security concerns for IT professionals, illustrating why it’s so important to authenticate and authorize every single video conference participant prior to their admittance into a meeting. Individualized authentication is essential to ensuring Zero Trust for the most secure types of video conferences.”