Industry analyst group finds that as hybrid work is here to stay, organizations realize video conferencing carries the same security risk as other web applications

Zerify Inc, the 21-year-old cybersecurity company focused on secure video conferencing solutions, today announced the findings of a report published by leading industry analyst firm Aite-Novarica Group. The Secure Video Conferencing SME Market Perspective – Impact Report recognizes Zerify as a leader in SecVideo (secure video conferencing) solutions with capabilities – notably, out-of-band multi-factor authentication (MFA) and one-time passcodes – to help larger video conferencing platforms and SMEs.  It also highlights the need for safeguarded video conferencing solutions among small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as hybrid work continues for many employees.

Among its numerous findings, the report indicates that although protecting corporate and confidential data has been a priority of organizations, video conferencing vendors are only now realizing it is crucial to add controls to bolster the cybersecurity of their existing platforms.

The leader in the industry

“Security of video conferencing is often overlooked, with many CISOs assuming the only options are the security settings of legacy video conferencing software,” explained the report’s author Tari Schreider, strategic advisor at Aite-Novarica Group. “Zero trust must extend to video conferencing solutions, and all sessions must be authenticated. We would be remiss not to recognize Zerify as a leader in secure video conferencing with the only solution that prevents eavesdropping from malicious malware takeover.”

Zerify has three offerings to ensure data protection through collaborative communications. Zerify Meet, the industry’s only zero trust video conferencing platform, authenticates every user before joining a meeting. Zerify Defender locks down one’s desktop camera, microphone, speakers, keyboard and clipboard. Zerify API enables businesses of any size to integrate secure video conferencing into all types of applications easily. Zerify is the only vendor in the industry to have built solutions protecting the camera, microphone, speakers, keyboard and clipboard and preventing screen-scraping malware.

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Security is essential
Global video conferencing is a $15-$20 billion market, according to Aite-Novarica Group. The report cites a survey of 1,000 IT and security personnel, with 92.7% acknowledging security vulnerabilities in their video conferencing solutions. It also says that SMEs require straightforward solutions to manage secure communications between employees and customers. And they seek products rich with API sets, allowing them to integrate SecVideo solutions into their customer-facing applications. The report also notes that more extensive video conferencing vendors have and will continue to acquire smaller SecVideo solution vendors to garner market differentiation and gain competitive advantage, especially as hybrid work is here to stay. These efforts to bolster security align with concerns expressed by security professionals about protecting proprietary data exchanged in video conferences.

Emerging Trends
Along with noting that hybrid work environments are here to stay, the report underscores that video conferencing is an indispensable business tool and that organizations realize it carries the same risk as other web applications. This is why many organizations will look for ways to ensure that their video conferencing platforms are secure. It is also why larger video conferencing companies are acquiring smaller SecVideo solution vendors.

George Waller, executive vice president and co-founder of Zerify, sounded the alarm and alerted the public, lawmakers and video conferencing vendors to the need to beef up video conferencing security at the start of the pandemic when these platforms saw a rise in popularity.

“We are extremely pleased that the Aite-Novarica Group has recognized Zerify as the leader in this report, highlighting that decision makers are waking up to the need for heightened security on these platforms,” he said. “As a 21-year-old cybersecurity company that foresaw demands in this area when work models began to change, we’re pleased to see Aite-Novarica Group raised the appropriate level of awareness that this topic deserves. Protecting corporate and confidential data has been a priority for almost every company, and video conferences have become the fabric of business interactions worldwide.”

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