Business Issue/Requirement

Many conferencing systems have customers use the same “conference code” for every call. As many conference calls cover confidential company information, this is dangerous. It can leave your call vulnerable to access by unauthorized and often unwelcome people; both internal and from external companies, either on purpose or “accidentally. ” Only invited participants should be able to access particular calls. Access loopholes should be minimized or ideally eliminated. Unauthorized participants need to be identified in real time, so they can be removed from the call, and an audit trail must be available after the conference to ensure call security.

ZipDX Feature

ZipDX sets a new standard for conference security. We believe it is imperative that assigned people, and ONLY those people, have access to the relevant conferences. Our “identity-based conferencing” creates a ZipDX identity for each participant based on his or her E-mail address, eliminating the need for codes. Each participant registers one or more phone numbers that are used for the call-me feature and dial-in auto-identification. If necessary, a participant uses a unique PIN they have selected for system identification, and that PIN is never shared. Plus, an invitation to one conference does not provide carte blanche access to other conferences hosted by the same individual or company. Back-to-back conferences hosted by one individual are completely separate within ZipDX, each having its own set of participants and taking place in distinct virtual conference rooms with separate access.

When a conference is in progress, the host and participants can access the ZipDX online dashboard to view and manage the participant list, although the host can restrict this feature). The ZipDX dashboard will display the name or E-mail address of each registered participant, or the caller-ID name or number of anyone not registered.

At the conclusion of the call, ZipDX generates a call summary and E-mails it directly to the host. In addition, our database captures the information and makes it available to the host and other account administrators at ZipDX.com. ZipDX retains additional data that we can access to investigate any suspicious activity.

Use this Feature

ZipDX security features are built in and do not need to be specially invoked. All our customers are afforded an equal level of security. Here’s how it works:

1. Often, you need to schedule back-to-back conference calls with different participants. For example, you have a 10 a.m. call with Group A, and a 10:15 a.m. conference with Group B. You can log into ZipDX.com as the host and observe the setup for both conferences. Log out. If someone logs in who is only part of Group A, they will see only that conference. When you dial in to ZipDX at 10:10 a.m. identified as the host, you will be prompted with options to access either conference; if the other person, who is only invited to the “B” conference, dials in, they won’t hear a choice and will be placed directly into the appropriate conference.
2. While a conference is in progress, you can access the online conference dashboard (see section 7 ‘Online Dashboard & In-Conference Features’). You will clearly see how the participants are identified. While still in the call, you can dial out to add another caller. You’ll see that the dashboard will automatically update to display the best available information associated with that number (a name, a location or the number itself).
3. After every conference call, ZipDX will generate a call summary and E-mail it to the host. It lists each participant, caller ID details, the time they dialed into the conference, the length of time they were on the call, as well as the “access method” (e.g. toll-free dial-in, international dial in with country ID, call-me or SIP/VoIP access). In some cases, ZipDX will automatically “mask” phone numbers (block the last 4 digits) in the summary; this is to preserve privacy for participants who might not want their mobile or home phone numbers disclosed.

Post-call, you can also view the summary details online. Log in to your profile at ZipDX.com, go to the Home tab and scroll down to Completed Conferences. This summary is available online indefinitely. It is available to the host of the call, as well as any account administrators.

Notes: While ZipDX promotes our patented no-codes conferencing as the most secure method available today, we also support a code-based conferencing option. This decreases the absolute security of the system; however the dashboard and post-call summaries continue to provide an extra measure of protection. Further, registered users can easily change their ZipDX PIN and can set up multiple conference codes. If you do use conference codes, we recommend you utilize different codes for specific purposes. (For example one code for board meetings, another code for customer calls and a third for internal administrative sessions. ) We also recommend members change codes regularly, as you would your computer password, for increased security.