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Some pointers on how to set up your Teams meetings to protect yourself and other participants in your video conference.

How secure are Teams meetings?

Microsoft Teams has similar properties to a standard phone line:

  • It is not end-to-end encrypted, so it’s technically possible for Microsoft (as the carrier) to eavesdrop, just as a phone company can eavesdrop on a landline conversation.
  • In common with other technologies, a Teams call could be recorded by any participant outside the application without anyone else knowing about it.
  • As with other technologies, you cannot be sure who else is physically in the room with each participant.

If you would be comfortable discussing something on a landline and speakerphone, it’s likely to be alright to discuss it using Teams.

ISO accreditation

The technology platform used by Teams is accredited against ISO-27001, the international standard for information security management. That does not mean it can’t be hacked, or that it can’t be misused, however it does mean that active steps have been taken to address those risks, and those steps have been independently audited.

Key security precautions when using MS Teams for a video call or video conference

Decide whether you want:

  • a standard Teams meeting: intended for relatively small groups, in which everyone can contribute to the conversation, or
  • a Teams Live Event: intended for a small number of people to address a large number or viewers or listeners.
    Learn more about Teams Live Events.

The link found in a Teams meeting invitation is essentially the key to get in. If someone's got the link, they can get into the meeting's virtual 'lobby' and wait to be granted entry to the meeting by the organiser.

Note: Microsoft is rolling-out the ability for meeting organisers to force participants to join via the lobby – this is expected in early June 2020.

Meeting organisers can:

  • Select who can present (i.e. who can share their screen for others to see)
  • Decide who can bypass the lobby, and who has to wait to be allowed in
  • When you’re running your meeting, make sure you know how to:
  • Disable audio for participants
  • Give, and take away, the ability to present
  • Remove someone from a meeting.

Larger meetings (e.g. lectures)

For large meetings, consideration should be given to having a co-host who isn’t themselves presenting or speaking, and can focus on the meeting organisation, etiquette and security.

Smaller meetings (e.g. student supervisions) 

Small meetings will require a different approach to large meetings.

Tips for running effective meetings using Teams

There is detailed guidance about how to use Teams for meetings, inerviews and Live Events on the Microsoft Teams Hub website.

Note: Log in with your CRSid@cam.ac.uk email address and Raven password – your institutional email address will not give you access.

Cambridge-specific tips for running effective meetings in Teams