Zoom provides a secure environment for holding meetings that require the upmost care. Zoom Meetings is approved for Restricted Use data with Zoom Meetings for HIPAA available for clinical use.

When planning for a highly sensitive meeting, it is important to consider both Zoom’s security features and appropriate forethought. An uninvited participant entering the meeting space can present a serious risk, so we recommend taking steps to prevent this from becoming a potentiality.

1. Initial Considerations

Before scheduling your meeting, ask a few questions first:

  1. Who are your participants? Having a list of names ready so you or your co-hosts can confidently admit participants from the waiting room is helpful.
  2. Will your participants call in over the phone? If they do, and they don’t enter a participant ID number, they will appear in the meeting as their phone number. Knowing your participants’ phone numbers will help you or your co-hosts confidently admit callers from the waiting room. You can use meeting registration to help collect this information.

2. Scheduling the Meeting

When scheduling your meeting, look for and enable appropriate security options:

  1. Enable Waiting Rooms if not already on or required by your account. Ensure that your waiting room is configured to hold all participants.
  2. Disable the ability for participants to join before the host.
  3. Enable authentication for your meeting. Use the “Boston University” option if all of your participants are members of the BU community. You can also add individual authentication exceptions or additional trusted domains.
  4. Designate an alternative host who can assist with waiting room and security management.

After scheduling your meeting, you can distribute the invite to your participants directly. Never publicly share the invitation.

3. Hosting the Meeting

With appropriate preparation, you should be confident entering your meeting. However, it’s still helpful to keep a few things in mind:

  1. Familiarize yourself with the In-Meeting Security Menu, which provides quick access to many critical features.
  2. Admit only the participants you expect from the waiting room.
  3. Once all participants have entered the meeting, consider locking the room from the In-Meeting Security Menu.