Audio and web video conferences are needed by organisations looking to streamline their corporate communication platform. Singapore-based firms depend upon the state-of-the-art voice and visual interaction systems to communicate with remotely located clients, vendors and personnel to carry out the requisite business functions.

Security threats faced by webcasting providers and users can be categorised into active and passive attacks. The latter steals data from ongoing conferences and is difficult to detect. On the other hand, up to four types of active attacks are known to hamper the security of audio and video conferences. There is also masquerade attack, and that involves an intruder posing as an authorised member of the conferencing group, thereby gaining access to the con-call.

Replay attacks are carried out to access messages transmitted between the communication points and then relaying them illegally. In certain cases, messages are altered, delayed or sent from one party to another in an incoherent manner to confuse the participants. One of the most potent threats for online conference services is the Denial-of-Service attack, which entails consumption of resources by an outsider. Such an attack is not trackable, making it impossible for the administrator to accept requests of group members if attackers are requesting access too.

In order to counter such web video conference threats, the centralised server must be encrypted to allow access only to distributed clients within the group. Concall service providers rely on security protocols to maintain confidentiality of the business communication process. Through efficient encryption, all conversations can be safeguarded from unauthorised personnel.

Having hardware that supports these encryptions is essential for secure audio and web conferencing. Premise-based communication solutions installed by webcasting providers must adhere to some standards to ensure that calls are not tapped into. Ideally, products having unified communication capabilities listed by governing authorities should be used. Moreover, the hardware used for audio and web video conferences must be interoperable within the Defense Switched Network (DSN) to maintain optimum confidentiality.

Moreover, all security features must be pre-installed in the hardware so that users do not have to concern themselves with complicated server and hardware configuration. Numerous tests and verification needs to be carried out by manufacturers as well as service providers before considering them secure.

Conventional audio and online conference services are essential for seamless interaction between corporate professionals looking to cut costs. However, no organisation is ready to compromise its security for this purpose and always rely on the traditional identification and authorisation through a User ID and password in video conferences. Likewise, people can join audio conferences only after giving the correct password during the authorisation stage.

Other server-side functions include forming groups and only allowing authorised members to access the ongoing conf call. Digital signatures are also extensively used by service providers for integrity protection as well as non-repudiation. Likewise, checksums, which are alternatively known as hash algorithms, also function as authentication and integrity protection mechanisms. Following these measures can help maintain security and confidentiality for the world of corporate audio and video conferencing.