5 RSI security myths debunked

with Raimondas Nausėda, Director of Engineering at Interactio
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Security has been one of the most fundamental concerns in the events industry, and for a good reason. When the boom of remote and, eventually, hybrid meetings happened, the video-conferencing and remote simultaneous interpretation (RSI) platforms faced new kinds of pressure, exposure, and threats. 

While over two years have passed, there are still many myths and misconceptions surrounding the topic of security and compliance and RSI solutions.

Therefore, we decided to highlight the most popular myths about RSI and debunk them with Interactio Director of Engineering, Raimondas Nausėda. 

❌ On-site events are more reliable and secure than online and hybrid meetings

We need to be specific and talk about the criteria for this discussion. Nowadays, almost any form of meetings, including on-site, can be subject to exploitation. Research shows that humans are extremely gullible to so-called social engineering, possibly allowing on-site events to be exploited. 

The pandemic has moved global society towards new habits of communication. Just like it is no longer practical to communicate via a landline phone and avoid the smartphone, in the same sense we should no longer be thinking in a binary way about on-site and online or hybrid meetings. 

Both on-site and online meetings can be exploited, so none should be treated as mutually exclusive. Security considerations should be treated equally in whichever form of gathering an organizer chooses. 

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✅ We as humans are prone to make an error of familiarity. Because we may have less knowledge of the digital space, we unjustly put more pressure on digital security and view it as less secure, without a good reason. 

❌ RSI platforms collect my meeting and participant data

For platforms like Interactio, data is essential because we use it to empower a quality meeting. Data collection and retention is not exclusive to just RSI platforms but to digital tools and spaces in general. 

At Interactio, we take data collection and retention seriously. We understand the sensitivity of the information we collect, and for this reason, we have procedures in place that ensure customer data is managed thoughtfully and correctly. We are GDPR compliant. 

✅Our mission is to connect people and provide the best RSI experience possible. We do not collect customer data and use it for purposes other than those agreed with the customers or purposes that infringe data privacy practices in general. The data that Interactio collects is used to ensure that a quality meeting with Interpretation can take place. No more, no less. 

❌RSI platforms are unreliable and can fail mid-event 

Again, I cannot speak for all platforms, and there’s a possibility that some platforms are unreliable. Of course, poor internet connection can cause some participants to lose connection. For this reason, organizers must consider that a stable internet connection is crucial and plan accordingly. 

On the Interactio platform, we have tools that allow participants and interpreters to check the quality of their video and audio as well as their connection. It serves as a reminder of the prerequisites for a successful meeting. 

✅On Interactio’s side, we provide best-in-class cloud infrastructure, which ensures that meetings are predictable and stable. The Interactio platform can withstand meetings with thousands of participants and does so daily. 

❌RSI platforms are not compliant with international standards

That is not true. RSI platforms have a standard for compliance - ISO24019. It defines requirements for the platform implementation and quality metrics. Interactio is proud to have played a role in developing this standard.

The mentioned standard devotes significant attention to personal data and information security. It is essential to know that Interactio has been successfully applying ISO 27001 practices in its service and product development for more than two years.

Understanding the needs arising from the health sector in terms of health data protection, Interactio made a decision more than a year ago to be certified for HIPAA compliance and acquired certification this year. 

✅We are committed to continuing to comply and strive for the best in the industry. Working with key democratic institutions, we understand the importance of compliance to our customers. For this reason, we are committed to the work required to become standards compliant and keep doing the work necessary to maintain standards compliance. 

❌Video-conferencing platforms can be hijacked (e.g., Zoombombing)

The infamous case of so-called Zoombombing, which we all have heard of during the pandemic, has cast a shadow on all video conferencing platforms, unfortunately. While platforms may have varying degrees of security measures in place, it's safe to say (no pun intended) that even the “Zoombombing” could have been easily prevented with basic configuration settings that are made available to the organizer of the event.  

Online and offline public events share the same risk of unwanted actors showing up at the door and disrupting an event. Recently, we have seen a number of cases where protesters would enter galleries and damage the paintings of famous artists. By nature, galleries are public spaces and pose an inherent risk of such attacks. 

✅Interactio provides multiple ways to secure meetings on the RSI platform. For example, it allows us to limit the types of interactions a group of participants can perform during the meeting. Participants of a particular meeting can be segmented, and a fine-grained permission scheme can be issued to each segment. 

If we compare it to a public gallery, it would be like allowing everyone into the gallery but putting a transparent glass shield in front of the painting for some visitors so that it can be viewed, but no harm can be done to it. 

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