Encryption of Video Conferences

Following the recent incidents of data leaks during Webex conferences in, the IT department strongly recommends that all members of the Institute who organise and/or take part in video conferences use the following instructions to secure their meeting using end-to-end encryption (E2EE) and thus protect them from uninvited listeners.

Please don’t worry, the Process does not take longer than 5 minutes.

Webex

  1. First go to the Webex website and select log in.

  2. Then enter your institute e-mail address. You should now be redirected to the login page of the Max Planck Society.

  3. Please select “MPI für Mathematik in den Naturwissenschaften” as your institute and click on continue.

  4. You will now be taken to the SSO login. Enter your user name/email and your Max MPG password again.

  5. You are now logged in. Now select Settings at the top left, as shown in the illustration, and navigate to Scheduling.

  6. There you will see a drop-down menu at the top. Open it and select Webex Pro-End to End Encryption_VOIPonly.

!(pics/E2E_1.png)

E2EE is now activated for your account by default. You can now log out of Webex again and end the process. Please note that conference participation by telephone is no longer possible with immediate effect.

Zoom

Please note, that in regards to the meeting rooms managed by the MPI the following actions will be taken care of by the IT-Department.

Account owners and admins can enable end-to-end encryption for meetings to provide additional protection when needed. When end-to-end encryption is enabled, all participants must join from the Zoom desktop client, mobile app, or Zoom Rooms. Please note the the following Features are not available while using E2EE:

  • Join before moderator

  • Cloud recording

  • Livestreaming

  • Live transcription

  • Conference rooms

  • Polls

  • Zoom Apps

  • Meeting reactions (supported as of Version 5.5.0)

  • Private individual chats (supported as of Version 5.5.0)

Users can no longer join by phone, from SIP/H.323 endpoints, local configurations, the Zoom Web Client, third-party clients using the Zoom SDK, or Lync/Skype clients, as end-to-end encryption of these endpoints is not possible.

Prerequisites

In order to activate E2EE, the following versions of Zoom must be installed on your device, depending on the software you are using:

  • Zoom Desktop Client

    • Windows: 5.4.0 or higher

    • macOS: 5.4.0 or higher

    • Linux: 5.4.0 or higher

  • Zoom Mobile App

    • Android: 5.4.0 or higher

    • iOS: 5.4.0 or higher

  • Zoom Rooms for Conference Room

    • PC: 5.2.2 or higher

    • macOS: 5.2.2 or higher

    • Appliances: 5.2.2 or higher

Activation

  1. Log in to the Zoom web portal.

  2. Click on Settings in the navigation window.

  3. Click on the Meeting tab.

  4. Under Security, check whether Allow use of E2EE is enabled.

  5. If the setting is disabled, click the status toggle button to enable it. When a confirmation dialogue box appears, click Enable to confirm the change. Note: If the option is displayed in grey, it has been disabled at either group or account level. In this case, you will need to contact your Zoom administrator.

  6. Under Security, select the End-to-End encryption.

  7. Click on Save. alt text

Microsoft-Teams

In Case of Microsoft, E2EE is currently only available for calls with up to two people, wich means that more members wont be protected.

Features secured by Team via E2EE

  • Audio

  • Video

  • Screen sharing

You can also chat in these calls, but your chat sessions are secured by Microsoft 365. Advanced features, including the following, are not available during an E2EE call:

  • Recording

  • Live captioning and transcription

  • Call transfer

  • Call merging

  • Call parking

  • Announce, then transfer

  • Call attendant and transfer to another device

  • Adding a subscriber

How to activate E2EE

  1. In Teams, select More options next to your profile picture and then Settings.

  2. Select Privacy on the left and then select the toggle button next to End-to-end encrypted calls to activate it.

  3. To ensure, E2EE is activated start the call, look for a small symbol with lock and shield in the top left corner of the screen and click on it.

  4. Now compare the displayed numbers with those of your counterpart. If the numbers match, the connection is secure.