Catherine Beeny - April 22, 2020

As travel restrictions continue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the video conferencing platform Zoom has become a huge factor in our ability to conduct international depositions remotely. After security issues were exposed, Zoom responded with numerous enhanced features designed to effectively prevent disruptions and provide secure communication across their platform.

Here is what you can do to ensure a secure international remote deposition via Zoom:

• Secure Your Depo Before It Begins
  Follow these steps to make sure your remote international deposition is as secure as possible. If you are using Optima Juris to set up your remote deposition, these steps will be automatically provided.
• Enable the Waiting Room Feature
  The Waiting Room feature allows you to control when participants join the deposition. You can admit attendees one by one or hold all attendees in the waiting room and admit them all at once. Licensed users can customize the waiting room screen with their own logo, title and description. Once admitted, attendees can easily be pushed back to the Waiting Room or removed them from the deposition all together. Instructions: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115000332726-Waiting-Room
• Use a Randomly Generated Meeting ID
  You should always schedule new depositions with randomly generated meeting IDs. That way, only invited attendees will know how to join your deposition.
• Require a Password to Join
  As an added layer of security, require a password to enter your deposition. Instructions: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360033559832-Meeting-and-Webinar-Passwords-
• Only Allow Registered or Domain Verified Users to Join
  When scheduling a deposition, you can require attendees to register with their e-mail, name, and custom questions. This means that only participants who are logged into Zoom can join the deposition, and you can even restrict it to Zoom users who’s email address uses a certain domain. Instructions: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/211579443-Registration-for-Meetings?zcid=1231

In-Meeting Features to Keep You Secure

Once your deposition is off and running these options can be easily utilized to keep everything safe and secure. If you are using an Optima Juris technician, they will monitor your depo and use these features as needed.

Locking the Deposition
Once all attendees have arrived, you can easily lock your deposition to prevent any additional attendees from joining.

Controlling Screen Sharing
You can turn screen sharing on or off for each participant.

Disabling Private Chat
You can disable and enable chat throughout the deposition.

Turning Off Annotation
You and your attendees can doodle and mark up content together using annotations during screen share. You can disable the annotation feature in your Zoom settings to prevent people from writing all over the screens.

Muting Participants
You can mute all participants and even disable their ability to unmute themselves. When you’re ready to make the meeting interactive again, you can simply hit the “Unmute All” button or allow participants to unmute themselves.

Removing Participants
At any point, you can easily remove an attendee from the deposition. For additional security, you can also choose to not allow participants to rejoin once they’ve been removed.

You can find detailed instructions on how to access the in-meeting security options here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360041848151-In-meeting-security-options

Additional Resources

Zoom Blog – https://blog.zoom.us/wordpress/
Zoom Help Center – https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us
Zoom How to Videos – https://zoom.us/resources

About Optima Juris

Optima Juris is the only U.S. agency exclusively dedicated to international depositions. We have been helping law offices across the globe find the highest-quality certified court reporters, legal videographers, and interpreters for over 20 years. If you should have any questions about international depositions or remote deposition services, please do not hesitate to contact us or fill out a free quote to see how we can make your international deposition a complete success.