Do you know who's attending your conference calls?

You should, but it's not unheard of for uninvited attendees to find their way in.



Name Announce Feature



One way to make it more difficult for someone to infiltrate you conference call meeting is to enable the ‘name announce’ feature. The option will prompt the attendee to say their name before they can enter the call. And their name would then be broadcast to everyone on the call. This is not 100% foolproof but would help mitigate someone intent on intruding on your call. Hopefully someone in your regular calls would be able to match up the voice with the name.



Use the online Live Meeting Viewer



If the call is sensitive and you know the phone numbers of your participants, you can use the caller ID list of the online call viewer that’s included with our plans. This enables the host of the call to see who is actually on the call, in real time. Any unknown caller ID’s could be easily spotted and terminated from the call quickly. The residual of this is that you would know the caller ID of whomever tried to enter your call.



For example, if you have a recurring conference call in the same virtual conference room with the same access and PIN numbers each week, it's conceivable that an attendee who's no longer welcome (such as a terminated employee now working for a competitor) could listen in. Use these steps to secure your conference calls.



Determine the Confidentiality Level of Your Conference

What will you be discussing? The confidentiality level of the call can serve as a baseline for how much security you should implement. For instance, if you're merely coordinating a tailgate party for the staff, your call won't need to be nearly as secure as a call discussing an upcoming merger.



Use Session-specific Access Numbers and PINs

The best way to secure a call is to use a session-specific access number and PIN. Since these won't be reused, you don't have to worry about participants listening in on future conference calls - because they won't have access to future calls. At the very least, you'll want to change access numbers and PINs whenever someone leaves the company.



Review Participant Lists Frequently

If you host recurring conference calls, make sure to review your participant lists frequently. Do these same participants still need to attend the conference call? Have any left the company? Have any of their roles changed? As you pare down the list, make sure to change access and PIN numbers.



Use the service options in the Web Interface, Roll Call Feature, or Online Conference Call Viewing Tool

Most teleconferencing service providers offer some sort of a Web interface, roll call feature, or online conference call viewer where you can quickly see a list of all attendees currently on the call. Refer to it before and throughout the call to ensure that you know exactly who's listening in. If a caller joins the conference call mid-meeting, you should hear a chime or an announcement alerting you to the new attendee. Pay attention and find out who just joined the call.



Review Your Call Summary Reports

If your provider generates a call summary report, refer to that after the call. If you used the online conference call viewer or other roll call feature during the call, the call summary's results shouldn't come as a surprise. However, if you were so involved in the call that you didn't have a chance to fully pay attention to the roll call, the call summary report will provide you with a complete list of all attendees.



Use the Conference Lock Feature

Once everyone is on the call and attendance has been verified, use the conference lock feature to lock anyone else out. Once the call is locked, no one else can join the call, even if they have the correct access number and PIN. Knowing that you regularly lock your calls will also help to encourage participants to be on time for future conference calls.



Use the Operator to Manually Connect Participants

Another option for securing conference calls is to give the operator a list of participants and have the operator manually connect them to the call. This can be time-consuming, but it ensures that only those who you've authorized to join the call will be allowed to enter it. Some conference calling service providers have an automated dial out tool you can use to preprogram dial out.



Use Moderator Dial Out, Especially for Guests

The moderator dial out option is a great way to bring participants into the call. This is similar to the operator dial out, except the moderator of the call initiates the dial out. If you have a few guests, using moderator dial out is a good way to connect them without having to reveal your call's access number or PIN.



Don't Hold Back-to-Back Conference Calls in the Same Conference Call Room

Did you know that if you use the same conference call room for two meetings in a row, it's possible for participants of either meeting to listen in to the other meeting? For example, if a participant from the first meeting doesn't hang up, that participant will still be present for the second meeting. Likewise, if a participant from the second call dials in a few minutes early, which is common, he or she will be joined to your current conference call. Again, pay attention to your roll call or live conference call viewer so that you know at any given time who's listening in.



If you must host back-to-back conference calls, use different conference rooms for each call.



Secure Your Conference Recordings

The ability to record and share your conference calls adds convenience, but may also pose a security concern if your conference call was highly confidential in nature. If you'll be recording the conference call, carefully consider who you share the recording with - if you share it all.



If you do share the recording, consider hosting the recording on a password-protected site, preferably one with a history tracking feature, so that only those with appropriate credentials can access the recording. You should also consider restricting downloads of the recording as well as making the recording available for a specific time only.



End the Call When the Moderator Exits

If your conference calling plan supports it, enable the option for ending the call when the moderator of the call hangs up. Once the moderator hangs up, all other attendees will automatically be disconnected from the call.



Just as you'd restrict access and find out who's physically present at a face-to-face meeting before you begin discussing confidential matters, the same is true of holding conference calls. Though you may not be able to lock the door or visually see each attendee in a teleconference room, modern conference call services include useful tools that allow you to limit access to the conference call and display who's in attendance.