Google Meet for effcient and secure video conferencing

We all know what it's like to hold video meetings in terrible quality. With the increase in remote working, more and more people have had to start dealing with that. Even worse are the delays in audio and video or when your presentation crashes in split-screen mode. Obviously, no one wants to hear their own voice choppy and robot-like, or that we're frozen on-screen. But more importantly, we are all concerned about our security as well as that of our data during remote meetings.

What you need is the right tool for the job - a jack of all trades. It needs to offer user-friendliness as well as the highest possible security. Enter Google Meet! For those of you that are frequent guests of our blog, you've probably become acquainted with all the tools and features that come with Google G Suite. Perhaps you've even already used them and know all the great things it has to offer, but today, we'd like to delve deeper into the security features.

Google Meet: Efficient & Secure Video Conferencing

Proactive security against unwanted guests

The good news on this front is that all calls in Google Meet have the security module active via default. Karthik Lakshminarayanan and Smita Hashim wrote about this very topic in their own article. Google implemented a security measure that generates an ID made up fo 10 characters to bring up the call. This ID will only be activated 15 before the meeting begins so that the timeframe that a Brute Force attack could occur would be minimal.

If your video conference involves external guests, they will need to be invited either directly via the Google Calendar invitation or through an internal participant who is logged in. Without this invitation, the external meeting guest will have to request permission to enter. However, these kinds of permission requests can be easily handled through internal participants.

Security features for large meetings

Being able to control who can participate in meetings is one factor. Another is that the meeting host has sole control over who they can mute or completely deny access to.

Pro-tip for even more security: If you're the host/organizer of the meeting, be sure to be the last person who leaves the room. As soon as you leave, no one else will be able to get back into the room. That way, you can also see if someone came back in because they have a question related to the meeting.

Encryption for secure remote meetings

To prevent risk, instead of making you use different apps, Google Meet runs entirely on your browser. There are no plugins or 3rd party apps needed, which removes the possibility of more security risks. G Suite offers two-factor authentication of all participants. To take advantage of additional safety measures, users can sign up for the Advanced Protection Program. This gives their data and login protocols the strongest possible protection. This advanced level of security is designed specifically for accounts that are exposed to high risks (for example, from online attacks).

By the way, all calls in Google Meet are encrypted natively. This encryption complies with the IETF security standards DTLS and SRTP. At each meeting, the encryption is guaranteed by a newly created and short-lived key, and you benefit from the entire security infrastructure of G Suite.

New features for higher meeting quality

The technology for video meetings is currently undergoing the probably biggest stress test in history. Countless teams around the world use Meet - for their daily coordination - and aspects that might not have been missing until now are now becoming critical. That's why Google has now made the advanced settings for Google Meet available to all users and added even more features.

Now you can see up to 16 participants at once in tiled view. For the best possible quality of audio and video for screen sharing, Meet offers the new option to share a chrome tab instead of the entire screen or window.

Speaking of audio and video quality: Google has a new approach to this problem, with AI as a helper. Especially in the home office environment, but also in some offices, the lighting conditions are not always ideal: a lamp shining brightly into the webcam, the sun casts your face in shadow, or rooms are simply too dark. Here, AI will make sure that the lighting of the video transmission is optimized.

Besides, it will be possible to filter out noises such as road traffic, other conversations, or noisy children in the background, etc. As a result, video meetings should soon be even more focused and less noisy.

Modern solutions for modern collaboration

Well-thought-out security mechanisms and native encryption, clear audio and high-resolution video signals, good usability when setting up a call, integration with other office tools such as the calendar - this is what companies need for efficient remote meetings in distributed teams or with external parties, and this is what Google Meet offers.

Simply start a free 30-day trial of the Google G Suite without obligation! If you have any questions about the solution and its implementation, we will, of course, be happy to assist you.