There has been a lot of discussion recently about Zoom security issues. Here’s my perspective as a working stiff with many years spent on the bleeding edge of technology and who has been mediating for about 20 years. Some information was outlined in a previous post but this is broader in scope and provides some useful tips on how to use the software safely.
First indulge me in a brief philosophical statement (okay paragraph).
Apparently, there are bugs deep inside the Zoom code. Microsoft has bugs deep in its code. Elon Musk had his cell phone hacked. If the world were perfect none of us in the personal injury litigation business would have a job. Like everything else in life, striking a balance between risk and reward is key to making practical decisions that are seen as wise in retrospect.
Practically speaking, Zoom is a good choice for virtual mediation in these troubling times because:
- It is one of the very few platforms that provides for breakout rooms
- Is easy to use by clients and mediators alike
- Requires no software to be downloaded on to computers
- Maintains a high level of confidentiality
The words and opinions in this article are mine but they come not just from my own experience but also from discussions with a core group of mediators, Jim Russell, Mike McCrodan, Scott Snider, Kathy Sainty, Mark Lodders, and Brian Gibbard who are also using Zoom to mediate virtually. I am sure other, equally experienced mediators who are also mediating virtually would agree largely with what I am outlining here. I just haven’t spoken to them directly at the time of writing this article.
In addition to talking with other mediators, I write specifically about Zoom based on information I have been able to glean watching online training videos, reading online material, engaging in many hours of mock mediations with other mediators and actually conducting mediations using Zoom. The comments are made in the context of the many years mediating in the world of personal injury litigation that all of us mediators have been privileged to have experienced.
An important point to keep in mind is that unlike more casual forms of Zoom usage, in our world a professional mediator has responsibility for, and consequently control over, all process that occurs virtually.
CONNECTING WITH ZOOM
- The invitation contains a computer link and a local telephone number
- If the user-device (laptop, desktop, tablet or smart phone) has audio-visual capabilities then clicking on the link will allow the user to see and hear all others similarly connected and equipped, and others will see and hear the user
- If the user-device does not have a camera and full audio capabilities, then clicking the link will allow the user to see and hear all others similarly connected and equipped but not be seen or heard themselves. Dialing in with a phone is then necessary for the user to be heard.
- If the user just dials in by telephone (smart phone or land line) the user can hear and be heard by all other participants. No computer connection is required to participate. It’s the same as has been done many times in the past with adjusters and sometimes plaintiffs and counsel that have attended in-person mediations from out of town in the past.
- A participant can therefore engage in Zoom meetings with the same level of security that they have had in the past when they just phone in. The process is enhanced however, by the other participants being able to be seen and heard, by the phone-in participant.
- To be absolutely secure, all parties could meet by telephone-only with Zoom technology enabling the mediator to employ virtual joint session and caucus spaces in the settlement discussion.
SECURITY
Audio-visual participation
§ The invitation contains a ‘meeting id’ (a nine to eleven digit number) and a password (a five-digit number). Both are randomly generated and specific to each meeting. They are only provided to legitimate invitees.
- An unauthorized person would have to successfully guess both to gain entry to a meeting.
§ If a hacker were able to do this, they would immediately be visible on the mediator’s screen in the waiting room area
- The waiting room is like the reception area in a claims centre or law office or reporting centre
- When any person joins a Zoom meeting it’s as if they physically walked into the reception area of a mediation centre
- Only the mediator can move participants out of the waiting area to a caucus room or joint session room.
- No participant in a caucus room or the joint session room can be seen or heard by a participant who is not in the same room with them
- Participants can only ‘chat’ (chat = a text function in addition to voice) with other participants in the same room
- Other than initial greetings, all process takes place in the caucus and joint session rooms
- The mediator is able to eject an unauthorized entity from the waiting room and prevent their re-entry.
§ So, just like at a physical mediation centre, no unauthorized person can get past the reception area.
- In fact, it’s more secure than a physical premise in that there is no physical effort required to eject an unauthorized person from the waiting room.
Exchange of audio-visual information
§ There is no documentary trace of a meeting unless it is recorded. Just like a physical meeting, all activity is only what is seen and heard in the moment, and is gone at the end of the meeting.
§ When a virtual meeting is set up using Zoom the default setting for recording the meeting is off.
- The recording of meetings is a feature intended for things like training sessions so that others not present at the initial session can view the canned version of the seminar at a different time.
- The recording feature would never be used by a mediator. Mediators are well aware that a guarantee of confidentiality is essential to any successful mediation practice.
§ The recording option, once set to off, cannot be turned on by either the mediator or the participants while the meeting is in progress.
§ If for some reason a hacker was able to turn it on, a red light would prominently show up on the screen.
- A mediator would immediately halt any meeting were this to happen
Exchange of documents
§ There is an option to upload files, but this is not needed in a virtual mediation. Participants can exchange late breaking reports, witness statements, photos etc. by emailing them to participants of their choice. The security of this sort of emailed exchange of documents is not affected by participation in a Zoom meeting; and it is the manner in which these exchanges are occurring for in-person mediations.
§ There is a share feature in Zoom where a document can be brought up on the screen by a participant
- That document is fully under the control of the sharer and cannot be downloaded. No section of the document can be copied by any other participant.
- The document, however, can be screen captured by another participant. This would be against the Code of Professional Conduct promoted by the Law Society, against the Code of Ethics provided by MediateBC, and against any Claim Adjuster related Code of Ethics, but it is possible.
I hope this is of assistance. All of us mediators are at the disposal of our clients to assist in continuing to safely and securely move files forward during the pandemic. If anyone who want to dry-run Zoom technology in the mediation context, give me a call.