Meeting spaces: a place where plans are created, innovations are launched, and increasingly, where endpoints are left accessible.
Although your meeting room may function well with an integrated sound system and conferencing camera, if these devices are compromised, then a situation can arise that extends far beyond its four walls.
This is because the convergence of AV technology with IT has created a bridge that can be used to gain access to your wider company, with far-reaching effects.
Susy Liem, AVP Product Management, Conferencing at Shure, explains, "Insecure AV devices can expose organizations to unauthorized access, data breaches, and compromised communications."
Therefore, in the hybrid world of online meetings, securing your AV is no longer just ideal, but essential.
Why Meeting Room Tech Is a Gateway
Unlike laptops or mobile devices, AV devices are often seen as a weak link and thus are not run on the main network.
Yet as AV devices become more complex, from IP cameras to wireless displays, IT increasingly wants to manage them. To do this, they will need to put them onto their network, yet this is where the security risks arise.
When AV devices operate on the network without proper security management, they create opportunities for new risks. As Liem warns, "If not properly secured, AV devices can serve as entry points for cyberattacks," turning everyday collaboration tools into corporate liabilities.
Once inside the wider network, issues such as data theft and disruption can occur. This means more than just operational downtime, however.
Christopher Meyer, Product Security and Conferencing Platform at Shure, breaks down the broader implications of the cost of an attack to business: "Organizations may incur substantial costs related to incident response, legal liabilities, and lost productivity."
Recognizing this, security-conscious AV vendors like Shure have responded to these challenges by developing solutions that enable IT to align AV devices with their security best practices.
These solutions focus on improving their manageability and observability, giving meeting room technologies the same protection as other critical endpoints are afforded.
ShureCloud: Bridging the AV-IT Divide
IT teams face challenges in continuously monitoring device health, swiftly detecting issues, and ensuring AV security aligns with broader IT policies.
To bridge this gap, Shure developed ShureCloud, a cloud-based platform designed to unify AV management within familiar IT workflows. This allows IT to bring AV devices onto the network whilst keeping them secure.
