9 Tips to Help Keep Digital Legal Meetings Secure

In the age of COVID-19, teleconferencing has become the most popular way to conduct business with others from afar. Still, confidentiality is of the utmost importance for legal meetings. That’s why lawyers, paralegals, and other industry professionals should follow these nine tips when taking remote depositions or conducting other virtual legal meetings.

1. Choose a secure platform: Start by scheduling the meeting on a platform you trust, being aware that consumer-grade software may be insufficient for your legal firm’s security needs.
2. Limit who can join: An old hacking strategy called “war dialing” uses a random number generator to access videoconference meetings without password protection. To prevent this, always require a password, enable two-factor authentication, use a waiting room approval system, and lock the meeting once all invited participants have joined. Then, conduct a roll call before getting down to business.
3. Restrict file sharing: Hackers don’t necessarily need to invade the call to steal files shared during a virtual meeting. Therefore, only share files that are required to conduct business. Then, do so through a separate and secure document management platform, not the chat section of your teleconferencing app.
4. Monitor screen sharing and chat features: To keep your discussion secure and on track, disable screen sharing, chat, and annotation functions at your discretion.
5. Know how to spot uninvited guests: Signs of an intruder include joining without a video feed, having a seemingly invisible “ ” username, and having a duplicate username. Boot the suspected hacker and tighten your security before resuming the meeting.
6. Make sure each participant’s connection is secure: Virtual meetings can be hacked from any device or connection. To reduce this risk, make sure each participant has a firewall, antivirus software, and network monitoring tools in place.
7. Don’t share meeting links publicly: Whatever you do, don’t share the meeting ID or invitation link on social media. Instead, keep the information secure by only sharing it with participants who are already logged in and authorized before the meeting begins.
8. Set start and end times: In many business settings, it’s nice to have an open chat channel to swap ideas and share a work environment, even from a distance. However, it’s crucial to schedule start and end times for secure meetings so they aren’t left vulnerable to hackers.
9. Don’t click on malicious links: Most videoconferencing software has a chat section where participants can share documents and links. Most people click on links automatically, making it an attractive place for hackers to spread malware. Tell all meeting participants to announce when they share a link or ask what a link is and who posted it before clicking.

At Talty Court Reporters, we utilize the latest technology to deliver the very best results in your legal case. Turn to us for top-quality video and audio conferencing, court reporting, transcribing services, and remote depositions in San Jose, CA. For additional information about our services or to request a cost estimate, please contact us today.