A number of recent incidents in Zoom meetings at Penn State has prompted the need to remind faculty, staff, and students that safe and secure meetings depend upon both proper settings and the choices of how hosts advertise and promote meetings.
Good security also depends upon good user practices.
BEFORE A MEETING
- Do not publicly post meeting links on social media platforms and other online sites. There are recommended guidelines on how to properly advertise and promote virtual events to keep meetings and events secure.
- Do not use Personal Meeting rooms (PMI) for publicly scheduled meetings or post public links to Personal Meeting rooms. Do create webinars for publicly scheduled meetings.
WHEN THE MEETING BEGINS
1. Click the Security button on the Zoom toolbar and familiarize yourself with the following settings:
- Waiting Room
- Share Screen
- Chat
- Rename Themselves
- Unmute Themselves
- Start Video
- Remove a Participant
- Suspend Participant Activities
2. If a setting is checked, then it is enabled. For example, a check beside Share Screen means that participants may share their screens.
IF A DISRUPTION OCCURS
The host or co-host should:
- Click Suspend Participant Activity under the Security button.
- The meeting will lock to prevent others from joining, all participants videos will be disabled, audio will be muted, screen shares and recordings will stop, and break out rooms will end.
- Unmute their own microphone to let participants know how to proceed. This may include rescheduling the meeting or continuing after the disruption has been addressed.
- Report any incidents of Zoom bombings to University Police immediately.
Note: You may be prompted in Zoom to click on report participant, but it is critical that the University Police is notified on all incidents.
RESOURCES
Check out the screencast Zoom-bombing: Take Action to Secure Your Meetings.
Users should periodically review their Zoom security settings and remain vigilant when choosing to adjust the default settings in Zoom. A listing of the default security settings can be found on the Office of Information Security website.
Penn State IT Learning and Development has Zoom Office Hours and trainings available to assist faculty and instructors. Register to attend these Zoom training sessions:
For more information, refer to the following knowledge base articles:
- Zoom: Change Meeting Settings for Hosts
- Zoom: Change Webinar Settings for Hosts
- Zoom: Prevent and Manage Meeting Disruptions (aka Zoom-Bombing)
- Zoom: Preventing Unwanted Meeting Attendees
Questions also can be answered by contacting the IT Service Desk, by calling 814-865-HELP, or sending an email to zoom@psu.edu.
For the latest Zoom updates, news, resources, support, and training information, please visit zoom.psu.edu.